In Case You Missed It – Shaheen Says “More Help is on the Way” Through COVID Relief as She Tours Vaccination Site & Meets with Hard-Hit Entertainment Venues
On Friday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) traveled around the Seacoast to highlight robust federal funding heading to New Hampshire through the American Rescue Plan. She began her day in Exeter meeting with state officials and the National Guard to discuss funding to bolster the vaccine rollout. New Hampshire can expect roughly double the grant funding for vaccine administration thanks to Shaheen’s efforts to address a discrepancy in federal assistance for smaller states like New Hampshire that were previously shortchanged federal support due to a flawed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding formula. She later traveled to The Music Hall in Portsmouth to host a virtual roundtable on new relief for independent entertainment venues, including $1.25 billion more for the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant (SVOG) program. She also visited Red’s Good Vibes in Dover, where she highlighted new funding and nutritional assistance secured to help nonprofits on the frontlines of the pandemic serve vulnerable communities.
Read more about the Senator’s visits in New Hampshire below:
NHPR: “Shaheen Tours Vaccination Site, Touts COVID Stimulus Package”
Seacoast Online: “Shaheen touts relief funds for vaccine, arts, hungry in Seacoast stops”
Eagle Tribune: “Shaheen to venues: Look for positive times ahead”
WMUR: “Shaheen Discusses New Relief for Entertainment Venues in New Hampshire”
The COVID-19 relief legislation, also known as the American Rescue Plan, contains key priorities secured or supported by Shaheen, including:
- Support for state and local governments and improved flexibility for uses of funding
- Premium tax credit enhancement provisions from her standalone legislation, the Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act
- Increased federal dollars for the Provider Relief Fund to ensure hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers on the frontlines have the support they need
- Funding to support vaccination efforts in smaller states like New Hampshire after a flawed formula led New Hampshire to receive less federal funding than originally estimated
- Federal investments to help child care providers and combat homelessness
- Resources to support veterans impacted by the crisis, including $750 million for state veterans’ homes to keep residents safe during the pandemic
- Direct payment assistance to help working families, with direct payment assistance of $1,400 per taxpayer and eligible dependent for taxpayers filing separately who make up to $75,000, and married taxpayers filing jointly making up to $150,000
Senator Shaheen is a member of the bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers that has steered negotiations of COVID-19 relief. The recent COVID-19 relief bill signed into law in December contained Shaheen-negotiated legislation that provided urgently needed assistance to American students, families, businesses, workers and health care providers impacted by the public health and economic crises. Senator Shaheen had a similar leadership role as a negotiator for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law last March and secured New Hampshire an initial $1.25 billion to assist with COVID-19 response efforts. Shaheen helped lead discussions on provisions in the CARES to assist small businesses and established the Paycheck Protection Program and expanded the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. Both of these programs have been lifelines for businesses throughout New Hampshire and the country.
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