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Senator Hassan Meets with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Nominee

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, today met with President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

 

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Mr. Mayorkas and discuss the work ahead to keep Granite Staters and all Americans safe, secure, and free. We face myriad challenges right now, and many have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. I was glad to hear from Mr. Mayorkas about his plans to combat terrorism and cybersecurity threats, especially given the recent hack of federal agencies. As the fentanyl, heroin, and opioid epidemic continues to devastate New Hampshire communities, we also discussed the role of the Department of Homeland Security in disrupting the deadly flow of fentanyl into our country. I look forward to continue working with the Department of Homeland Security and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep Americans safe.”

 

As a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Senator Hassan has led bipartisan efforts to strengthen national security. Senator Hassan successfully worked to pass the bipartisan DHS Data Framework Act – which is now law – to help ensure that analysts at the Department of Homeland Security can more efficiently identify terrorist threats. Due to the increasing number of cyber threats to government agencies and critical infrastructure, Senator Hassan introduced the bipartisan Hack DHS Act, which the President signed into law, to strengthen cyber defenses at the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, the bipartisan DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act that Senator Hassan cosponsored is awaiting President Trump’s signature to become law. The bill will ensure that personnel at the Department of Homeland Security have the tools that they need to more easily detect synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which are contributing to the devastating substance misuse crisis in New Hampshire and across the country.

 

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