Shaheen Discusses Situation in Israel, Additional Support for Ukraine, Legislative Priorities and More on WMUR’s CloseUp

Watch the discussion in full here.

(Washington, DC) – On Sunday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined Adam Sexton on WMUR’s CloseUp, to discuss current events, like the developing situation in Israel and Gaza and the war in Ukraine, as well as Shaheen’s legislative priorities, including lowering the cost of insulin and continuing to support common-sense gun safety efforts.

Key quotes from Senator Shaheen below:

Israel's response to Hamas’ attack and situation in Gaza:

• “Hamas really unleashed a brutal and barbarous attack that killed 1,400 Israelis on October the seventh. This is a response to what the Hamas has done. And very sadly, the Palestinians who occupied Gaza are being used as pawns in this war. […]

Continued support of Ukraine:

• “It is in America's interest to support Ukraine in the fight against Vladimir Putin, who is a vicious dictator. In Ukraine, he's killing civilians indiscriminately, he's undermining their infrastructure and make no mistake: Our allies throughout Eastern Europe, NATO allies, the Baltic states who are our NATO allies, they are very worried about what happens if we don't stop Putin in Ukraine.”

Importance of passing gun safety legislation following the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine:

• “Last year, we did pass the first gun safety legislation in 30 years, which addresses mental health. There's significant funding available to help address mental health issues, put into background checks, particularly for younger citizens to prevent them from getting hands on guns when they're not of age. But clearly there are still huge holes in the system, as we saw the shooting in Maine, where people did seem to identify the shooter as a problem that still didn't address getting him the help he needed to prevent those awful killings.”

• “But to do nothing, and to continue to do nothing when we've had over 500 mass shootings this year, alone—and it's not even the end of the year—It's just not acceptable.”

Cutting the cost of Insulin:

• “We kept out of pocket expenses for people on Medicare at $35 a month last year [with the Inflation Reduction Act], but Senator Collins and I have legislation that would do that for more Americans.”

• “What we saw from the American Diabetes Association's report that came out last week is that the cost of insulin has tripled in the last 10 years. And we have 37 million people who have diabetes in this country; we’ve got to do something to address those costs.”

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