ICYMI: Shaheen Leads Questioning of Attorney General Sessions
**Shaheen focused on funding for addressing the opioid epidemic and supporting our criminal justice system, bringing ISIS members responsible for the murder of James Foley to justice, and the independence of the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller**
(Washington, DC) – Yesterday U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions on key New Hampshire issues during an Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2018 funding request and budget justifications for the Department of Justice. As the lead Democrat on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Shaheen led questioning of the Attorney General on funding for addressing the opioid epidemic and supporting our criminal justice system, bringing ISIS members responsible for the murder of James Foley to justice, and the independence of the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Attorney General also stated at the hearing that he reversed course on the Department of Justice’s plan to suspend the Legal Orientation program for undocumented immigrants in response to a bipartisan letter led by Senator Shaheen.
In her first line of questioning, Shaheen focused on funding for the high intensity drug trafficking and Byrne-JAG criminal justice programs, and the administration reversing course on suspending the Legal Orientation Program for undocumented immigrants.
Watch their exchange HERE.
Senator Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the lead Democrat of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee, has led efforts in Congress to respond to the opioid crisis. As a result of her advocacy on the bipartisan Common Sense Caucus and her engagement during the writing of the funding bill that was recently signed into law, Senator Shaheen helped secure the $3.3 billion in additional resources. This funding will go towards a number of key programs through the Department of Health and Human Services for treatment and prevention, the Department of Justice for law enforcement and grant resources, and other federal agencies to help communities impacted by the opioid epidemic. Senator Shaheen has also introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Hassan that would change how federal agencies determine State Targeted Response Opioid Crisis Grant funding to prioritize states with the highest mortality rates.
Shaheen has consistently advocated for funding the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne-JAG) program, which funds state and local law enforcement initiatives, including those associated with fighting the heroin and opioid crisis, such as the state’s drug task forces and approved treatment alternatives to incarceration.
In her second line of questioning, Shaheen focused on bringing ISIS members responsible for the murder of James Foley to justice, and the independence of the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Watch their exchange HERE.
Last month, Shaheen led a letter to the Trump administration urging justice for James Foley and victims of ISIS. The two ISIS fighters, El Shafee El-sheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, were captured by U.S.-supported forces in Syria in January and are believed to be members of the notorious ISIS group known as, “The Beatles.” Both men are alleged to have been intimately involved in the imprisonment, torture and murder of the four Americans. James Foley was a freelance journalist and New Hampshire resident. During a Senate Foreign Relations hearing in February, Senator Shaheen asked former Ambassador Kevin Moley, who is the President’s nominee to serve as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, for his commitment to bring James Foley’s killers to justice.
Senator Shaheen has consistently called for the independence of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. As the lead Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Shaheen has the responsibility to ensure the DOJ and FBI have the resources they need to do their jobs.
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