Shaheen Includes New Hampshire Priorities in Bipartisan Funding Bills
**Democratic Leader of Senate Appropriations Subcommittee secures critical resources for New Hampshire opioid crisis, transportation and fisheries**
**Prioritizes law enforcement, economic development and scientific research**
**Restores funding for science, climate and economic programs eliminated by Trump Administration budget**
(Washington, DC)—Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, has secured critical funding for several New Hampshire projects in a bipartisan funding bill the committee approved today, including for opioid epidemic, transportation, coastal restoration and fisheries programs.
“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, and the ranking Democratic member on the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee, I’m pleased to ensure federal resources are directed to New Hampshire to address our pressing challenges, including the opioid epidemic, our fishing industry and contaminated drinking water in some of our communities,” said Shaheen. “I’m also committed to reversing shortsighted Trump Administration budget cuts that underinvest in New Hampshire and leaves our economy, small businesses and infrastructure more vulnerable.”
Granite State projects included by Senator Shaheen in the Fiscal Year 2018 Commerce, Justice, Science and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bills:
Treatment and recovery to combat New Hampshire’s opioid epidemic
- Includes $174 million for communities grappling with the heroin, fentanyl and opioid epidemic--$158 million directed specifically to state and local governments for law enforcement, treatment and recovery initiatives. The bill rejects the Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate anti-heroin task force grants and provides an additional $8 million for Justice Department addiction and prevention grants through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Last year, New Hampshire had the second highest death by overdose rate in the country and this funding will help communities on the front lines of this epidemic.
Support for New Hampshire fisheries
- New Hampshire fishermen have seen their revenues decline by more than 60 percent from 2006 to 2015, while the number of vessels in the state's groundfish industry have been reduced by two thirds, to approximately just 20 boats remaining. Shaheen ensures the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fully funds observers in the New England Groundfish Fishery and provides $2 million for groundfish research and sustainability. Shaheen also directs NOAA to complete the fishery’s transition to less expensive electronic monitoring and reporting by 2021.
Spurs research that will help protect New Hampshire families and children from contaminated drinking water
- Shaheen directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a comprehensive federal strategy to address research gaps related to emerging drinking water contaminants, like perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). The effort bolsters Shaheen’s Safe Drinking Water Assistance Act that improves federal government efforts to identify and address the public health effects of contaminants detected in New Hampshire drinking water and assist states dealing with health challenges posed by these harmful materials.
Protects New Hampshire trucking and commerce
- Protects New Hampshire’s existing federal truck weight exemption and ensures the state’s ability to decide the size and weight limit of trucks operating on local interstates. Shaheen’s amendment fixes a technicality that led to the Federal Highway Administration ruling that certain trucks operating in New Hampshire were out of compliance with federal law and subjected the state to penalties, even though these trucks have been operating in the Granite State for decades. Without Shaheen’s intervention, New Hampshire would have lost federal highway funding and forced trucks off the road, causing serious damage to the local economy and threatening the livelihood of operators.
Protection for New Hampshire coastal communities
- Rejects the proposed elimination of NOAA funding for the Regional Coastal Resilience Grant program that helps New Hampshire coastal communities and local economies respond to natural disasters and rising sea levels. Shaheen also secured an increase in funding for NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration at the University of New Hampshire, and an increase of $2 million for the Sea Grant program, a federal-academic coastal research partnership that the President proposed to eliminate.
Record funding for Violence Against Women Act programs, domestic violence survivors and victims of violent crime
- Shaheen secured a record level of funding of $483.5 million for Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women grants, including an increase of $1 million each for the rural assistance program and transitional housing program for domestic violence survivors. Shaheen also secured $3.6 billion to be released to victims and families of violent crime as part of the Crime Victims Fund.
Funding for Critical Science Programs
- Shaheen’s bill protects the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from deep cuts proposed by the Trump Administration and includes a $10 million increase for NASA’s Heliophysics Program, an important research initiative for New Hampshire universities.
