Senator Hassan on “Good Morning NH” Discusses Lowering Gas Prices & Countering Russian Aggression
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, today U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan spoke with Jack Heath on the Pulse of NH’s “Good Morning NH” about her efforts to lower gas prices and address inflation, and counter Russian aggression.
Here are some highlights from Senator Hassan’s interview:
On Lowering Gas Prices: “People are really feeling a pinch right now with higher prices, and so I’ve proposed a gas tax holiday for the rest of 2022 that would save Granite Staters 18 cents a gallon at the pump. And I know that there is more work to do, but 18 cents a gallon is 18 cents a gallon. And when you're trying to make a family budget stretch, that's a little bit of help to pay for other things, like the cost of prescription drugs… I hope we can get bipartisan support for it you know, lowering people's costs and cutting taxes should be something everybody can agree on. But we're going to continue to push, I’m pushing the administration right now to support it as well.”
On Strengthening Supply Chains: “In the bipartisan infrastructure deal, we took some steps that will help with the supply chain. One of them is investments in our ports, so things like one and a half million dollars about to the Portsmouth Harbor to widen that turning basin, and that means we can bring larger ships in with more product. Also, the bipartisan infrastructure deal increases the supply of commercial truckers.
“The legislation I'm working on right now is legislation that would help us bring American manufacturing back in critical sectors like semiconductors, biotechnology, military technology, quantum mechanics, among other things. And it's really focused on being part of a bigger package that would allow us to invest critical dollars in research and development in the United States and in supply chain manufacturing here. That helps us outcompete China, it creates good jobs here at home, and it also makes sure that we are self-sufficient in the face of any other global crisis moving forward. And I think one thing we've really learned from the pandemic is how important it is to be able to make things here at home.”
On Russia and Ukraine: “Vladimir Putin needs to understand that there will be extreme consequences for him, and sadly for the Russian people too, if he invades Ukraine. And what we need to see now after this announcement overnight is actual proof that troops are being withdrawn, and obviously it can't be just a small number of troops. So we need to keep the pressure on. As you and your listeners probably know, I joined with Republicans and some Democrats last month pushing for earlier sanctions to try to prevent an invasion.”
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