Senate Passes Government Funding Bill with Key NH Priorities Secured by Senator Hassan

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statement after the Senate passed the bipartisan government funding legislation, which includes key New Hampshire priorities that Senator Hassan worked to secure:

“This year’s government funding bill includes major Granite State priorities that will lower costs for families, strengthen our response to the opioid epidemic, and help more Americans save for retirement. I’m pleased that Senators on both sides of the aisle came together to pass this package, and I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly follow suit.”

Critical New Hampshire priorities that Senator Hassan helped secure in the government funding bill include:

Combating the Opioid Epidemic

• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, which eliminates an outdated requirement, the ‘x-waiver,’ that limits the number of medical practitioners who can prescribe life-saving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

• A measure backed by Senator Hassan to give law enforcement more flexibility to interdict fentanyl-related substances by extending the designation of fentanyl analogues as Schedule I drugs until December 31, 2024.

• Provisions from Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill to help address the severe shortage of doctors trained in addiction medicine. The government funding bill creates 200 new medical residency positions, including for addiction medicine, at teaching hospitals in New Hampshire and across the country.

Supporting Veterans

• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill to designate one week per year as “Buddy Check Week.” The bill is modeled after the American Legion’s “Buddy Check National Week of Calling” that connects veterans to other veterans in order to better ensure that they receive the support that they need.

• Bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan championed to help provide surplus government computers to veterans and others who need them. Senator Hassan worked on the legislation with Digitunity, a nonprofit based in North Conway.

• A bipartisan measure that the Senator introduced with Thom Tillis (R-NC) to improve oversight of the VA and reduce the backlog of requests from veterans for medical and other VA military records.

Lowering Health Care and Home Energy Costs

• Bipartisan measures that Senator Hassan worked on to increase access to generic and biosimilar medications, which are often less expensive than generic drugs.

• $4 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program, a $200 million increase over last year, which will help Granite Staters with their energy costs.

Helping Americans Save for Retirement

• Bipartisan measures Senator Hassan and colleagues introduced to make it easier for businesses to offer retirement benefits, including enabling more businesses to join multiple employer plans (MEPs) and expanding tax cuts to small businesses who provide retirement benefits to their employees.  

• Increases retirement plan flexibility for public safety officers and improves access for military families, including provisions from bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Hassan and Collins (R-ME) to help military families save for retirement.

Addressing the Housing Shortage

• Funding that Senator Hassan worked to secure that will help with the construction of thousands of new rental units and houses.

Strengthening Maternal Health and Child Care Support

• The bipartisan TRIUMPH Act, which Senator Hassan introduced with Senator Tillis, that creates a federal taskforce and national strategy to improve maternal mental health outcomes and expand mental health resources for new mothers.

• A critical measure that Senator Hassan pushed for to ensure that for the first time, every child in America who qualifies for Medicaid or CHIP will now be guaranteed at least one year of continuous health coverage.

• Extension of a measure, which Senator Hassan supported, that ensures that states can provide a full year of postpartum coverage for mothers on Medicaid and CHIP.

• Increased funding for Child Care and Development Block grants, a measure that Senator Hassan pushed for, which will expand affordable child care to more families in New Hampshire and across the country.  

Extending Access to Affordable Telehealth Services

• A measure Senator Hassan pushed for that extends coverage of Medicare telehealth services through 2024, ensuring that more patients, especially in rural communities, get the care that they need.

Strengthening Support for Rural Students

• Doubling funding for a program that supports rural students, including college prep and career pathway programs in rural communities. 

Funding Key Bipartisan Legislation

• Critical funding to implement key bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan helped pass into law, including the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and PACT Act that addresses veterans’ toxic exposure.

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