It’s June 3, 2021. Here’s a roundup of what’s been going on recently with New Hampshire’s Congressional Delegation.
Hassan supports retraining bill
U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Todd Young (R-IN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Tim Scott (R-SC) recently reintroduced legislation that would expand educational assistance programs to help ensure that employers have the tools to hire and retrain workers. The Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act would increase the amount of tax-free educational assistance that employees in workforce development programs can receive from their employers, and would modernize the program to cover expenses for tools and technology that are required for educational programs.
“To recover from this pandemic, we must invest in helping to ensure that workers have the skills that they need for today’s jobs. I’m glad to be working closely with my Republican and Democratic colleagues and business leaders to do exactly that by making it easier for employers to invest in their employees,” said Hassan. “This legislation would make it easier and more affordable for businesses in New Hampshire and across the country to both invest in their employees and meet their workforce needs. This long overdue change would help make sure that workers and businesses can thrive in today’s 21st century economy.”
Pappas joins letter on PFAS
Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Congressman Peter Meijer (MI-03) led a bipartisan letter with 26 of their House colleagues this week calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to ensure that funding to adequately assess, monitor and remediate PFAS contamination across the country is included in a final infrastructure package.
Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is one of the most pressing environmental and public health issues facing our nation and impacts millions of Americans.
Specifically, the Representatives are urging Congress to ensure that federal dollars are appropriated and executed as part of a national, programmatic strategy led by the EPA. This would include:
- Harnessing an extensive national data set to apply predictive analysis to accelerate science and understanding, creating innovative approaches to remediation and treatment.
- Providing water utilities and wastewater treatment facilities the resources they need to address PFAS contamination, without placing a financial burden on local ratepayers.
- Prioritizing spending to immediately implement interventions that reduce PFAS contamination in vulnerable communities.
- Envisioning long-term goals that systematically regenerate our natural systems.
Click here to read the full letter.
Shaheen reintroduces toll-related legislation
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Toll Credit Marketplace Act, legislation that would establish a program to help states increase resources for highway and transit projects. The bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a marketplace for the sale and purchase of toll credits, which are accrued when states use toll revenues to invest in transportation projects that benefit the interstate system. While toll credits lack cash value, states can utilize these credits to cover the local match on federally funded highway and transit projects. However, given the limited amount of federal dollars that states can dedicate their toll credits to, many states find themselves left with more credits than they can use. According to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, New Hampshire currently has a balance of more than $200 million in toll credits. This bill would allow states like New Hampshire and New Jersey to sell their excess toll credits to other states on this marketplace to bring in new revenue. These funds could be used for other transportation needs in these states. Shaheen first introduced this legislation in the 115th Congress.
“Toll credits represent dollars being left on the table that could and should be put to good use on a myriad of infrastructure needs throughout New Hampshire. The Toll Credit Marketplace Act is a common-sense bill that would give New Hampshire and other states facing similar constraints the opportunity to get real value for these credits that they can turn around and invest meaningfully to repair our roads, bridges and other transit infrastructure that otherwise can’t be assisted with toll credits,” said Senator Shaheen. “We need to address our crumbling infrastructure. Senator Booker and I are providing a smart, economical way to do just that, and I urge members on both sides of the aisle to join us in this effort.”
