Shaheen Highlights Bipartisan Snowpack Legislation at Cranmore Mountain, Continues “Affordability Action Tour” with Roundtable on Rural Health Care Amid Republican-Led Funding Cuts

(Berlin, NH) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) visited Cranmore Mountain in North Conway to discuss her bipartisan legislation to bring snowpack monitoring to the Northeast to benefit New Hampshire’s outdoor recreation economy, before travelling to Berlin to lead a rural health care roundtable discussion as part of her ongoing “Affordability Action Tour.” Photos from today’s events can be found HERE.

Shaheen began the day at Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, where she toured the resort’s new lodge, learned about recent upgrades and highlighted her bipartisan legislation to support snowpack monitoring throughout the Northeast, which will help Granite State businesses and communities that depend on the outdoor recreation economy.

“Thirty years ago, winters in New Hampshire looked different than they do today. The Northeast Snow Survey will help us understand snowpack, floods and water supply levels in the region,” said Senator Shaheen. “This benefits our communities, businesses like Cranmore and the others in outdoor industries that rely heavily on snowpack data for safety, planning and tourism to help power the local economy. That’s why I’m committed to working toward expansion and further investment in this critical research and data monitoring.”

Shaheen’s bipartisan Snow Survey Northeast Expansion Act, introduced alongside Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), seeks to establish a network of snow and weather monitoring stations across the Northeast to track mountain snow accumulation and precipitation rates. The bill would expand the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s existing Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting program that currently exists only in the West to the Northeast. Such a system is necessary to understand how changing climate conditions may impact flood potential and water supplies, as well as businesses that rely on snowfall. After securing an initial $1 million for the survey in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, Shaheen ensured continued funding in the FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill that was signed into law.

Then, in Berlin, Shaheen continued her “Affordability Action Tour” with a roundtable at Androscoggin Valley Hospital with leaders from community health organizations, such as North Country Health including, Androscoggin Valley Hospital, Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital, Coos County Family Health Service and Bi-State Primary Care. The discussion focused on addressing challenges to rural health care and increasing access for those in New Hampshire’s rural communities.

“Republican-led health care cuts, combined with the expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, make it harder for rural communities to access affordable care at a time when many Granite Staters are already struggling with the rising cost of everyday essentials,” said Senator Shaheen. “With families across the state seeing spiking premiums and shrinking health care coverage, I wanted to hear from local health care leaders about these challenges – Congress should help ease the financial burden felt by too many New Hampshire families, not make it more difficult.”

As a result of President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Betrayal,” over 46,000 Granite Staters are expected to lose health care coverage, with millions more across the state and nationwide already facing increased costs following the expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits. As the author of bicameral legislation to permanently extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, Shaheen spearheads efforts to expand health care access and combat rising premiums. Earlier this year, Shaheen took to the U.S. Senate floor to call for unanimous consent to pass a three-year extension of the credits and continues to work on bipartisan health care negotiations.

Androscoggin Valley Hospital is the latest stop in Shaheen’s “Affordability Action Tour,” which launched in August to hear from Granite Staters about what needs to be done to tackle the affordability crisis.

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