ICYMI: Senators Shaheen, Hassan Urge VA to Prioritize Improvements to Manchester VA Medical Center & Full-Service VA Hospital in NH

(Manchester, NH) – Last week, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) called on Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough to prioritize infrastructure improvements to the Manchester VA Medical Center and ultimately build a full-service hospital in New Hampshire. 

Their push comes after multiple incidents of infrastructure-related problems at the Manchester VAMC, including water and heating concerns during the recent cold snap. In addition to calling for immediate infrastructure improvements at the Manchester VAMC, the Senators urged the VA to construct a full-service VA hospital in New Hampshire.    

The Union Leader covered the Senators’ letter. The full article is available here. 

Senator Shaheen has spearheaded efforts in the Senate to support veterans and military families. Shaheen worked to include provisions and helped pass the historic PACT Act, which expanded health care for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. In the fiscal year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed into law, Shaheen successfully included a provision based on her bipartisan legislation with Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) that improves the transferability of military spouses’ occupational licenses and helps alleviate the red tape spouses endure if they’re small business owners moving from state to state with their families. In government funding legislation for FY2022 that was signed into law, Shaheen successfully secured $3 million to implement the legislation. Additionally, the funding legislation included $22 million for the Beyond Yellow Ribbon (BYR) program, which funds the New Hampshire National Guard’s Care Coordination Program. BYR programs provide outreach services to troops returning from deployment, including health care, marriage and financial counseling, substance misuse treatment and mental health services. Shaheen built on these efforts in the FY2023 government funding proposal released by Senate Democrats earlier this year. Last September, Shaheen worked with a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Access for Veterans to Records Act to help more veterans access their service records. 

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