Congressional Roundup: Hassan calls Supreme Court “short-sighted” on Mass tax case

Sign Up For Our FREE Daily eNews!

Here is a roundup of recent news from New Hampshire’s congressional delegation.

800px US Capitol Building at night Jan 2006
Congressional dome. Credit/Wikimedia Commons

Following the news that the Supreme Court declined to hear New Hampshire’s complaint against Massachusetts for unfairly taxing Granite Staters as a matter of original jurisdiction, Senator Hassan issued the following statement:

“People working full-time in New Hampshire should not have to pay another state’s income tax. To not even hear a case that impacts so many Granite Staters’ and Americans’ pocketbooks is disappointing and short-sighted. What is happening to New Hampshire residents goes beyond New England and has a far-reaching impact on citizens across this country who are being forced to pay taxes for a state where they don’t even work or live. I will continue pushing forward legislation that will set strict and clear limitations on any state who tries to impinge on the economic freedoms of Granite Staters.”

Last month, Hassan was a co-sponsor on the latest version of the Multistate Worker Tax Fairness Act to establish a simple, uniform federal standard based on a worker’s physical presence. The bill prohibits a state from imposing an income tax on the compensation a nonresident earns when that person is not physically in the state, and it ensures that people with out-of-state employers who telework, or whose job requires them to occasionally work in another state, do not have to pay out-of-state income taxes.

In February, Hassan called for the COVID-19 relief package to include a bipartisan measure that would limit the authority of states to tax the income of employees who are working remotely in other states.

Shaheen, Murkowski Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Improve Girls’ Access to Education Around the World

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the only woman and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently reintroduced her legislation with U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to address the unique barriers young girls in developing countries face in accessing a full education. Representatives Lois Frankel (FL-21) and Mike Waltz (FL-06) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Today, approximately 130 million girls around the world are not in school. The Keeping Girls in School Act would direct the U.S. government to leverage its resources and partnerships with private institutions, NGOs and federal agencies to create solutions that address the obstacles facing adolescent girls. The bill would also require the development of a U.S. Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls to ensure that the United States remains committed to adolescent girls as a critical demographic in the growth of every nation, especially in developing nations.

“When girls are empowered with access to quality education, it sets their societies on the fast track for success and economic development. That’s why addressing the global gender education gap must be a critical U.S. policy priority,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m proud to reintroduce bipartisan legislation that requires a global strategy to address barriers impeding education while getting to the root causes of these disparities. I’m glad to partner with Senator Murkowski on this crucial legislation to make clear the U.S. has a moral obligation to act now to protect and educate girls across the world.”

Text of the bill can be found here.

Senators Hassan, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Federal Cyber Workforce

U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), chair of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced a bipartisan bill to create two new cyber training programs within the federal government to help strengthen American cyber defenses and bolster the federal government’s cyber workforce. One of those programs will be housed at the Department of Veterans Affairs to specifically recruit veterans for cybersecurity training programs.

“Our national cybersecurity infrastructure is woefully lacking, as evidenced by the SolarWinds breach,”Hassan said. “In order to bolster our cyber defenses and protect our critical infrastructure, we need to increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the federal government. This bipartisan bill will also help address the workforce challenges in the veteran community by standing up a cyber-training program at the VA to help veterans secure good-paying, stable jobs, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.”

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Expansion Act establishes two new programs:

  1. A cybersecurity registered apprenticeship program in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
  2. A pilot program within the Department of Veterans Affairs to give cybersecurity training to veterans

To see bill text, click here.

 

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.