Shaheen Kicks Off “Affordability Action Tour” to Highlight Efforts to Address Cost of Living Crisis and Invest in New Hampshire
**Shaheen Discussed Impacts of Health Care Cuts in North Conway, Highlighted Congressionally Directed Spending for Mount Washington Observatory, Attended Ribbon Cutting at Coos County Family Services and Toured White Mountain Paper**
(Gorham, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) launched her “Affordability Action Tour” to hear from Granite Staters about what needs to be done to tackle the affordability crisis so that so many Americans are facing. To kick off the tour, Shaheen hosted a series of events in the North Country centered around her efforts to lower costs and invest in New Hampshire. Photos from today’s events can be found HERE.
In North Conway, Shaheen toured MaineHealth Memorial Hospital and led a roundtable discussion with hospital leadership to hear more about how the facility will be impacted by Republican-backed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
“The ‘Big Beautiful Betrayal’ threatens the survival of health centers, nursing homes and hospitals across New Hampshire but especially in the most rural parts of our states,” said Senator Shaheen. “That’s a huge problem for folks in the North Country who rely on facilities like MaineHealth Memorial Hospital for affordable care, and that’s in part, thanks to federal funding. I’m going to keep doing everything I can to help rural hospitals keep their doors open despite these disastrous health care cuts.”
Later, in Berlin, Shaheen attended a ribbon-cutting for a new Coos County Family Health Services dental clinic and domestic violence shelter as part of her “Invest in New Hampshire Tour”. The dental clinic relocation received funding from the Shaheen-supported Northern Border Regional Commission’s Catalyst Program. Shaheen also secured $1.5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) for the new facility in the FY22 government funding legislation.
“At a time when we’re seeing so many Granite Staters struggle with the cost of living, the funding that I secured for Coos County Family Health Services to open a new dental clinic and domestic violence shelter is exactly the kind of federal investment we should be making in our rural communities,” said Senator Shaheen. “I was honored to be in Berlin today to attend the ribbon-cutting for this new facility that will provide accessible, high-quality care to residents of the North Country.”
Coos County Family Health Services is one of the many rural providers that will be negatively impacted by health care cuts in the “Big Beautiful Betrayal”. Under that law, health care costs are expected to skyrocket while 15 million Americans are expected to lose health care coverage—including more than 46,000 Granite Staters. Shaheen has led series of discussions across the Granite State to underscore the harm cuts to health care will have on the state.
Shaheen also continued her “Invest in New Hampshire Tour” by heading to Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) to highlight CDS that she secured to support research efforts at MWOBS. In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 government funding legislation, Shaheen secured $1,538,000 for MWOBS to fund a number of equipment upgrades including a purchase of a new snowcat. Senator Shaheen also headed to the summit to meet with summer campers.
“From accurate weather readings to measuring snowfall, the Mount Washington Observatory is a world-class research institution located at the top of New Hampshire’s most iconic peak,” said Senator Shaheen. “At a time when the Trump administration is dismantling federal support for climate science, I was glad to celebrate a positive investment in this kind of research that was made possible by Congressionally Directed Spending that I helped secure.”
Shaheen wrapped up the day by touring and visiting White Mountain Paper in Gorham to receive an update about the Mill’s operations from the businesses’ leadership and other local stakeholders. White Mountain Paper has also benefitted from federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). This Inflation Reduction Act program, which Shaheen supported, is helping the company install modern boilers to make the facility more energy efficient and lower costs.
“I was glad to visit White Mountain Paper in Gorham to discuss how they're partnering with local stakeholders to advance economic opportunity through redevelopment of mill sites and career training,” said Senator Shaheen. “We should be supporting innovative solutions that help lower production costs; instead, this administration is punishing businesses with burdensome and disruptive tariff taxes.”
Senator Shaheen is helping lead efforts in Congress to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump's tariffs. Recently, Shaheen took to the Senate floor to call for unanimous consent to pass her Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act and highlight the devastating impacts the trade war has on families, small businesses, American manufacturing and key trade partnerships across the world, but Senate Republicans blocked the move. Last month, Shaheen helped introduce bipartisan legislation, Creating Access to Necessary American-Canadian Duty Adjustments (CANADA) Act, that would exempt United States-owned small businesses from the sweeping tariffs imposed on Canadian products. Last month, Shaheen led 30 Senators in filing an amicus brief in a key case, Oregon v. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the Trump Administration’s abuse of emergency powers to impose tariffs.
In recent months, Shaheen has traveled across the Granite State to discuss the impact of tariffs on New Hampshire’s tourism industry and to visit businesses impacted by President Trump’s trade war including Brueckner Group USA, Colby Footwear, Chatila’s Bakery, C&J, DCI Furniture, Mount Cabot Maple, American Calan Inc. and NH Ball Bearings.
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