Shaheen Named Chair of Pivotal Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced today that she’ll serve as Chair of the pivotal Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.
Shaheen has been Vice Chair of the subcommittee for 4 years, and through her leadership, has helped secure critical priorities for New Hampshire, including robust anti-opioid funding, federal support for law enforcement grants to hire more officers and invest in mental health programming, assistance for Granite State fisheries, record-level funding for Violence Against Women Act programs, increased federal support for economic development grants and more. Shaheen has also used her leadership position to address critical issues impacting the nation, from confronting the Trump administration’s political attacks on the 2020 census count to bolstering U.S. investments in space research and exploration.
“The Commerce, Justice, Science subcommittee oversees government funding in areas that are of critical importance to New Hampshire, especially those that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, from turning the tide of the substance use disorder epidemic to delivering urgently needed help to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. As the Vice Chair, I worked in good faith with Republican leadership to address these priorities and I plan to build on that progress in my new capacity as Chair,” said Shaheen. “This subcommittee has purview over many issues that continue to demand Congress’ full attention and response, such as support for local economic development assistance grants to help cities and towns that are facing severe financial strain from the pandemic, as well as necessary investments to enhance police community relations. I look forward to getting to work and directing the subcommittee’s priorities in a way that best responds to our needs in our communities throughout the country as we fight through the hardships of the pandemic.”
In government funding legislation signed into law in December — as Vice Chair of the CJS subcommittee – Shaheen successfully secured a number of key New Hampshire priorities, including $50 million for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to construct a new drug laboratory in New England, which presently does not have one, to improve lab testing in the region. Currently, if a DEA sample may contain fentanyl it must be transported separately by ground transportation to the laboratory in New York City due to laws prohibiting its transfer through the mail. This process has been incredibly difficult for the region because agents must physically transport any samples that might contain fentanyl, resulting in hours of travel to New York City and back. The New York Division is also one of the busiest for DEA and a lab in New England will help both Divisions meet drug testing demands.
In addition to her new leadership role on the CJS Appropriations subcommittee, Shaheen has also been named Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation.
