Senator Hassan Secures New Hampshire Priorities in Bipartisan Infrastructure Package
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, yesterday the U.S. Senate voted to pass the historic bipartisan infrastructure package, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Senator Hassan was one of the 22 original negotiators of the bill, and successfully pushed for certain provisions related to passenger rail, high-speed internet access, coastal resilience, clean energy, and cybersecurity. The bipartisan package includes major investments in passenger rail, including potential funding opportunities for passenger rail connecting Nashua, Manchester, and Concord to Boston. In addition, a Hassan-led state and local cybersecurity grant program was included as part of the final Senate bill.
See below for coverage highlights:
Union Leader: Bipartisan infrastructure bill that NH senators helped negotiate clears Senate
By Kevin Landrigan
A bipartisan majority in the U.S. Senate passed a massive infrastructure bill for the first time in more than a decade Tuesday.
Both New Hampshire senators, Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, were among 22 senators from both parties who spent weeks brokering the compromise, which would spend $1.2 trillion to fix roads and bridges while upgrading the nation’s power grid and the public’s access to high-speed internet.
[…]The bill also includes a four-year, $1 billion grant for state and local governments to fight against cyberattacks, a pet project of Hassan’s.
“A cyberattack on a state or local government network can put schools, electrical grids, and crucial services in jeopardy,” she said. “Even though cyberattacks are becoming more and more common in today’s threat landscape, state and local governments often do not have the adequate resources to defend against them.” […]
By Mike Cherry
The United States Senate has passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. If the house agrees to it, some New Hampshire towns could see an injection of cash for some projects that have been in progress for some time.
[…] Other elements included in the bill are $110 billion for road and bridge repair, $65 billion to bolster the nation’s power grid and $55 billion to revitalize drinking water infrastructure.
Sen. Maggie Hassan said expanding passenger rail is also part of it.
“Think about the impact it could make on the quality of people’s lives, as well as the quality of our environment and the capacity to attract people to our state to have a connection between Boston, Nashua, Manchester and Concord,” she said. […]
The Hill: Senate includes over $1.9 billion for cybersecurity in infrastructure bill
By Maggie Miller
The Senate included more than $1.9 billion in cybersecurity funds as part of the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package approved Tuesday.
The funds will go toward securing critical infrastructure against attacks, helping vulnerable organizations defend themselves and providing funding for a key federal cyber office, among other initiatives.
The infrastructure bill, which now goes to the House after it was approved by the Senate following weeks of negotiations, includes $1 billion in funds for state and local governments to strengthen their cybersecurity. Cyber criminals have launched more attacks since many services moved online during the pandemic.
The funds were part of the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act, which would create a grant program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide the $1 billion to these government entities over four years, with a quarter of the funds going to particularly vulnerable rural communities.
“A cyberattack on a state or local government network can put schools, electrical grids, and crucial services in jeopardy,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), a key senator who negotiated the funds being included, said in statement Tuesday. “Even though cyberattacks are becoming more and more common in today’s threat landscape, state and local governments often do not have the adequate resources to defend against them. This new grant program will be a crucial resource for state and local governments, and I am very pleased that it is a part of our historic bipartisan infrastructure bill.”
[…] The infrastructure package also included $21 million to provide funding for the White House national cyber director office. Former National Security Agency Deputy Director Chris Inglis was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the first national cyber director in June, but his office has so far not received funding, making it more difficult to carry out his duties.
Sens. Hassan, Portman, Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Tuesday applauded the inclusion of the funds, which will be a one-time grant to run through the next fiscal year, when Congress can formally fund the office. […]
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