Government Funding Legislation with Key New Hampshire Priorities Heading to President’s Desk

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statements after the Senate passed bipartisan government funding legislation. The package, which also includes key bills and tax fixes that the Senator has worked on, already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will now head to the President’s desk for a signature. 

On the key New Hampshire funding priorities included in the bipartisan package, Senator Hassan said:

“From providing $1.5 billion and additional flexibility for the State Opioid Response grant program, to supporting the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, to strengthening counterterrorism efforts, to helping fix highways, roads, and bridges, and increasing Pell grants, this bipartisan package includes key priorities for Granite Staters,” Senator Hassan said. “I will continue working with members of the New Hampshire delegation to secure additional federal funding that will help Granite Staters and our economy thrive.”

On the key legislation that Senator Hassan worked on that was included in the package, she said:

“I’m glad that this package includes important bipartisan legislation I’ve worked on to bolster cybersecurity efforts, improve prevention and treatment for tick-borne diseases, reverse tax increases on military families and students, and make it easier for Americans to save for retirement,” Senator Hassan said.

On the craft beverage tax cut extension and other key tax fixes and incentives she worked on, the Senator said:

“This package will also extend tax cuts for New Hampshire’s growing craft beer industry and incentivize better energy efficiency in homes, among other important tax fixes,” Senator Hassan said. “I urge the President to sign this bipartisan agreement into law without delay.”

See below for more background on the New Hampshire funding priorities, Hassan-backed legislation, and tax incentives included in the bipartisan package:

Key New Hampshire funding priorities:

Combating the Substance Misuse Crisis

• Continues funding the State Opioid Response grant program at $1.5 billion, maintains 15 percent set-aside that Senator Hassan worked to secure for hardest-hit states, and provides additional flexibility to expand treatment for meth and cocaine use.

Investing in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

• Funds the procurement of two Virginia-class submarines, naval vessels to be maintained by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Keeping Communities Safe:                                                                     

• $40 million through the State Homeland Security Grant program for nonprofit security grants, quadruple the amount from fiscal year 2019. In August 2019, Senator Hassan and the New Hampshire delegation announced that seven New Hampshire religious institutions had been awarded a total of $150,000 through the program.
• $17.5 million for targeted violence and terrorism prevention. This new funding initiative provides $10 million for grants to local and nonprofit organizations to determine the most effective terrorism prevention activities, for both international and domestic threats.
• $2 billion, $334 million more than fiscal year 2019, for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection.
• More than $502 million for domestic violence grants within the Violence Against Women Act program, the highest level in its history.  

Protecting the Environment and Addressing PFAS Contamination

• $251 million to address PFAS contamination at military bases.
• $10 million to continue the PFAS health impact study established in the FY2018 defense bill under Senator Shaheen’s leadership.
• A $60 million increase for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), for a total of $495 million.

Service Members, Veterans, and Military Families

• Funds a 3.1 percent pay raise for military personnel.
• $81 billion for the VA to provide health care for veterans, more than $7.5 billion over last year’s enacted levels. This will fully fund the new MISSION Act, as well as expand access to care in VA facilities.  

Northern Border Regional Commission

• $25 million for the Northern Border Regional Commission, a $5 million increase above the FY2019 level.

Investing in Cutting-Edge Medical Research

• Nearly $2.4 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), bringing total funding to $41.5 billion. This includes significant funding for Alzheimer’s disease and brain research.

Fixing Highways, Roads and Bridges

• $1 billion, a $100 million increase over FY 2019, for the BUILD/TIGER program that helps communities invest in fixing highways, roads, and bridges. Senator Hassan has long been a champion for the program.

Education and Workforce Development 

• $150 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award, bringing it to a record $6,345 per student.
• $550 million increase for the Child Care Development Block Grant for a total of $5.8 billion, more than double the funding the program had just three years ago.
• Record level of $10.6 billion in funding for Head Start, a $550 million increase.

Small Businesses

• Provides a $132 million increase for the Small Business Administration which helps small businesses nationwide succeed and grow. This includes increases for Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Veterans Programs, and Microloan Technical Assistance.

Affordable Housing

• A $100 million increase for the HOME program, the only federal program solely dedicated to affordable housing production and preservation. 
• Instructs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide recommendations for eviction prevention research, a provision of a bill Senator Hassan introduced earlier this year to prevent evictions.

Key New Hampshire policy priorities:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act

• Includes bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to bolster cybersecurity in the public and private sector.

Kay Hagan TICK Act

• Includes the bipartisan Kay Hagan TICK Act, cosponsored by Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), to improve research, prevention, diagnostics, and treatment for tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease.

SECURE Act

• Reverses tax increases from the 2017 Republican tax law that hurt Gold Star families and students. Senator Hassan helped lead Congressional efforts to address these issues.
• Includes the core provisions of the Collins-Hassan Retirement Security Act of 2019 to help Americans save for retirement.

Key New Hampshire tax priorities:

Extends Craft Beverage Tax Cuts

• Extends craft beverage tax cuts through 2020. Senator Hassan will continue working to permanently extend these tax cuts.

Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credits

• Extends two tax credits for residential energy efficiency through 2020. Senator Hassan will keep working to update and strengthen these tax credits moving forward.

Reverses “Church Parking” Tax Increase

• Reverses tax increase from 2017 Republican tax law on benefits that non-profits provide to employees, such as parking spots provided to church employees.

Solves Electric Co-Op Tax Problem

• Solves a problem created for electric and other co-ops by the 2017 Republican tax law which could cause them to lose tax-exempt status for accepting federal grants, such as disaster relief and broadband funding.

Extends New Market Tax Credit

• Extends the New Markets Tax Credit and increases funding from $3.5 billion to $5 billion through 2020. Senator Hassan will continue working to permanently extend this tax credit.

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