New Hampshire’s senators say they are still engaged with the bipartisan group working on an infrastructure bill that could get at least a few Republican votes, though its passage is far from assured.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan said in statements Wednesday that they are plugged into the effort to advance the bipartisan infrastructure framework, which calls for $579 billion of new infrastructure over five years, in part to keep the United States competitive.
“It allows us to begin to be competitive with China,” Shaheen said during a Zoom call with the New England Council on Wednesday morning. “But also with Europe, with other countries around the world we need to be able to compete with.”
But Shaheen and Hassan say they are also looking closer to home. Both say they are working to boost New Hampshire infrastructure priorities – including rail to Boston, broadband internet for rural areas, and dealing with PFAS contamination.
“For too long, New Hampshire communities have been left off the grid and struggled to access the high-speed internet they need to learn, access medical appointments or conduct business. And we’ve seen throughout New Hampshire the anxiety and worry that families impacted by PFAS exposure have endured due to contaminated drinking water supplies,” Shaheen said in a statement Wednesday.
Hassan’s office said she is part of working groups pushing commuter rail and rural broadband, and is working on a national infrastructure financing authority, which her office said would help use private funds for infrastructure projects. Shaheen is also working in the broadband group, and on water quality, according to her office.
As far as the the larger infrastructure proposal being crafted to pass with a process that would require only 50 votes, Shaheen told the New England Council she broadly supported that effort too, citing funding for child care, and expanded benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, including dental care.
Supporting care workers
With Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Hassan helped introduce a bill this week that would spend $1 billion to stabilize the workforce of direct caregivers such as home health aides — and expand the workforce as the United States and New Hampshire’s populations get older.
The bill would award grant money to states through the Department of Health and Human Services. States would be allowed to use the money for efforts to attract, train and retain direct-care workers, and to provide training and support for unpaid family caregivers.
Funding in the bill would also be used to develop national standards, and for efforts such as gathering data nationwide on the direct-care workforce and spreading best practices.
“Investing in our direct-care workforce and family caregivers is an investment in our families, our communities, and our economy,” Hassan said in a statement.
‘Golden entrepreneurs’
Shaheen and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) introduced a bill on Wednesday to create a special program in the Small Business Administration to help retired people start and grow small businesses — an office for “golden entrepreneurs,” per the bill.
Older entrepreneurs could receive training in technology and digital marketing, networking, hiring and growth — as well as managing finances in retirement, and how to wind down or sell a business.
“I’m proud to help lead a bill that connects senior entrepreneurs with new training opportunities so they can build businesses and strengthen our communities – no matter their age,” Shaheen said in a statement.
“The American Dream doesn’t stop at retirement,” Scott said.
Sharing notes?
The New Hampshire Democratic Party and one of the Republicans who has declared a Senate run are using the same CNBC ranking of business-friendly states to ding Gov. Chris Sununu.
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley is tying the report to his party’s campaign to link Sununu to unpopular Washington figures such as Sen. Mitch McConnell ahead of a potential Senate run.
But Democrats aren’t the only ones running against the specter of a Sununu candidacy. Retired Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc — who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Senate in 2020 and is taking another run in 2022 – is taking aim at Sununu.
“I have said consistently that low unemployment is not indicative of a strong economy in NH,” Bolduc said in an email. Bolduc said he also thinks New Hampshire is struggling to attract and retain younger workers.
“There have been no innovative solutions to address this problem,” Bolduc said.
Asked to respond, a spokesman for Sununu emailed Granite Status a different ranking of states that painted New Hampshire in a more favorable light.
