In The News
NH delegation repeats call for National Guard reimbursement
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Members of the state's Democratic congressional delegation said Friday they are glad President Donald Trump has extended the activation of the New Hampshire National Guard to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic but his refusal to fully fund it is unacceptable. The activation has been extended through March 31, 2021, but since August, the state has only been reimbursed 75%. "We are witnessing record-high cases, hospitalizations and deaths - now is not the time to short… Continue Reading
December 04, 2020
Sentinel Editorial: Stimulating conversation; Congress must seize on momentum for a long-awaited coronavirus aid package
by Editorial Board
In the current circumstances, it ought to be a slam dunk. Sadly, in the strange and too often frustrating way Washington works, it may prove not to be. For months, Congress and the White House have been dithering and delaying over an additional coronavirus aid package, despite clear evidence that the nation will not be back on its feet from a public health and economic standpoint when much of the government aid that's helped the country limp through the year expires at its end. The sti… Continue Reading
December 01, 2020
$908B relief package proposed by bipartisan group of senators
by Mike Cherry
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Progress has been made on a bipartisan proposal made by a group of senators to provide $900 billion to relieve financial burdens. New Hampshire's senators told News 9 that they will not leave Washington for Christmas break until something gets passed. Standing as a unified front, lawmakers unveiled the groundwork for a $908 billion stimulus bill which would be the first relief package in months. "It may not be as much as some of us would have liked," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen sai… Continue Reading
November 30, 2020
Bipartisan group of lawmakers announces $908 billion stimulus plan, aiming to break logjam
by Seung Min Kim and Jeff Stein
A bipartisan group of senators is expected to unveil an approximately $908 billion stimulus proposal on Tuesday, aiming to break a months-long partisan impasse over providing emergency federal relief to the U.S. economy, according to four people aware of internal negotiations. Congress has faced increasing pressure to approve additional economic relief since talks between the White House and House Democrats collapsed, first over the summer and then again in the fall ahead of the Nov. 3 pres… Continue Reading
November 25, 2020
Haven's grant to help with housing for violence survivors
PORTSMOUTH - Finding a safe place to live is just one of the barriers faced by victims of domestic violence. The tightness of the rental market on the Seacoast and rapid rise of home prices have made entering the housing market even more formidable. Haven has received a four-year, $625,000 grant from the federal Office of Violence Against Women to provide a housing assistance program and related support to victims of sexual and domestic violence in Strafford County. Haven, the state's largest … Continue Reading
November 23, 2020
New report says the pandemic dramatically reduced potentially life-saving preventive medical care
A new report shows the number of women receiving mammograms during the pandemic dropped. And now, some women who are going back and getting the tests tell Anna Werner they were charged hundreds of dollars for a screening they thought was free.… Continue Reading
November 22, 2020
National parks to become free for wounded veterans
BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) - A proposal from lawmakers in New England and California to give free access to national parks to wounded veterans is poised to become law. The Wounded Veterans Recreation Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives after previously passing the U.S. Senate. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Democratic California Rep. Raul Ruiz proposed the law. The lawmakers say the bill is designed to change the 2004 Federal Land… Continue Reading
November 19, 2020
Lawmakers want upcoming COVID-19 relief funds to prioritize nursing homes in states with high shares of resident deaths, cases
by Danielle Brown
Several Democratic lawmakers are suggesting that long-term care facilities in areas that have higher shares of COVID-19 deaths and cases should be first in line to receive future federal relief funding. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Reps. Annie Kuster (D-NH) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) made the request in a letter sent to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar Tuesday. "While we believe that it is important to reward quality improvement and performa… Continue Reading
November 18, 2020
Members of Congress thank New Hampshire postal workers
by Andrew Sylvia
WASHINGTON - On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Congresswoman Annie Kuster (D-NH) joined others in a virtual roundtable to thank postal workers and listen to their concerns moving forward. Out of the 814,499 ballots that were cast in New Hampshire during the 2020 general election, 260,992 - about 32 percent - were absentee. Over recent months, the entire New Hampshire Congressional Delegation has spoken out against removal of postal sorting equip… Continue Reading
November 17, 2020
NH delegation: New England nursing homes unfairly penalized
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Nursing homes in northern New England are being unfairly penalized when it comes to federal funding during the pandemic, members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation said Tuesday. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the delegation took issue with the formula used to distribute $333 million to more than 10,000 nursing homes late last month. The nationwide average payment per facility was nearly $25,000, while New Hampshire facilities got abou… Continue Reading
November 16, 2020
Shaheen, Pappas and Hassan mourn 500th NH COVID-19 death
WASHINGTON - As New Hampshire reached its 500th COVID-19 death on Monday, Manchester's members of Congress took a moment to take stock of the grim milestone. Congressman Chris Pappas said that America has seen dark times in the past and that once again the country must unite to address the pandemic, but also mourned those who have been lost so far. "New Hampshire families are experiencing heartbreaking loss from this pandemic, and nothing can make up for the loss of loved ones taken by this te… Continue Reading
November 13, 2020
NH restaurants, hotels look for ways to stay afloat over winter
by Siobhan Lopez
MANCHESTER, N.H. - New Hampshire's hospitality industry is looking for ways to survive the coming months. Business owners who joined a call with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Friday provided a glimpse into the struggles they're experiencing and anticipating. Shaheen said she wanted to get an idea of what the businesses are dealing with and their ideas for what would benefit them when it comes to the next relief package. The call included owners of New Hampshire restaurants, hotels and performing ar… Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
U.S. Targets Insurers In Latest Round of Nord Stream 2 Sanctions
by Daniel Flatley and Dina Khrennikova
The U.S. is drawing up additional sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project, the latest obstacle in the path of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11.2 billion) Russia-to-Germany link that's been halted almost a year. House and Senate negotiators agreed to target insurers and technical certification companies working on the project in a defense bill that must pass by the end of the year, according to three people familiar with the matter. The move would add to penalties that stopped work … Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
NE drug lab, other NH projects contained in Senate spending bill
by Kevin Landrigan
A $50 million drug laboratory based in New England could emerge in final congressional negotiations over an omnibus federal spending bill, according to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Bi-partisan talks resulted in several other programs of interest to New Hampshire being included in a Senate spending package, including more than $600 million of work for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, assistance programs for first responders, a pay raise for all military personnel, relief for New England fishermen… Continue Reading
November 09, 2020
Cold weather could put restaurants into deep freeze
by Rick Green
WOLFEBORO - As the weather turns cold, the finances of restaurants in the time of COVID-19 are in danger of going into a deep chill. That's why the current brief stint of unseasonably warm weather has come as a blessing to restaurateurs who have been able to continue to use outdoor seating at a time when indoor dining is limited to allow for the social distancing required under state guidelines intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. Oral Kelly, general manager of Nolan's Brick Oven … Continue Reading
November 05, 2020
New Hampshire Food Bank forces change in distributor after families return poor quality food from USDA program
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The New Hampshire Food Bank has a new distributor after receiving complaints about low-quality food coming from a federal program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm to Trunk program started in May to help feed families during the pandemic. Food bank staff members said that at first, the food being given out was fine, but then another distributor stepped in and the quality of the food started to go down. "It does not represent what the food bank's nutritional standar… Continue Reading
November 02, 2020
Sen. Shaheen sends special message to Londonderry students
by Julie Huss
LONDONDERRY - As the national election was looming, a U.S. senator from New Hampshire wanted to send a special message to local school children. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen took on a virtual opportunity to be a guest reader for students at Matthew Thornton Elementary School, to help highlight the school's book fair event running through Nov. 8 Shaheen read the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein, part of the author's collection of humorous poems that have been classics for decades.… Continue Reading
October 29, 2020
Shaheen told COVID-19 vaccines likely to require subzero storage
by Barbara Tetreault
BERLIN - The two leading vaccines being developed for COVID-19 require being kept at subzero temperatures and local health-care providers told U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen they expect cold storage equipment will be the next challenge for the supply chain. At a virtual meeting with Shaheen last Friday, Androscoggin Valley Hospital President Michael Peterson said the two pharmaceutical frontrunners in the race to develop a vaccine are Pfizer and Moderna and both are working on vaccines that will … Continue Reading
October 28, 2020
Tourist Attractions ‘Really Struggling’ Without More Federal Help
by Paula Tracy
NORTH WOODSTOCK - Tourist attraction owners in the White Mountains are facing continued business uncertainty with the pandemic and need another infusion of help from Washington to get their full-time staff through to spring, they told U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Wednesday. Operators of the Cog Railway, Santa's Village, Clark's Trading Post, The Hobo and Winnipesaukee Railroad and a representative for the 17-member White Mountains Attractions, described the dire situations they face with limits on … Continue Reading
October 28, 2020
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: Fighting to protect domestic violence survivors during the pandemic
by Jeanne Shaheen
These are uncertain times and too many people are struggling. Every day I hear from small businesses, school officials, and our mayors about the enormous challenges they are facing due to the pandemic. We need to get COVID-19 under control, restore our economy, and get our lives back. Sadly, in the midst of these challenges, many existing issues are being exacerbated, including domestic violence and sexual assault. In the throes of the pandemic, too many survivors of domestic violence and sexua… Continue Reading
