Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Senator Hassan has worked across the aisle to get results for Granite Staters. She is the second woman in American history to be elected both Governor and United States Senator, along with fellow New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Senator Hassan is working to build a more inclusive economic future where all people who work hard to get ahead can stay ahead. She helped author and negotiate the bipartisan infrastructure package that is now law. It will repair New Hampshire roads and bridges, get affordable high-speed internet to communities, and get clean water into people’s homes. The Senator has led additional efforts to create jobs and support innovative businesses, including by expanding COVID-19 relief to more small businesses in New Hampshire. Senator Hassan has also led efforts to combat climate change, which threatens our environment and our economy.
Senator Hassan’s highest priority is keeping New Hampshire and America safe, secure, and free.
In the face of the vast number of national security threats facing our country, the Senator is focused on protecting the homeland and ensuring that America remains the No. 1 military force in the world, while also remaining the greatest force for good.
The Senator is working to ensure that we use every tool at our disposal to destroy ISIS and protect America from all those who wish to do us harm. That means ensuring that our armed forces have the resources, equipment, and support they need to complete vital missions around the world.
It also means maintaining America’s global leadership. Senator Hassan believes we must ensure that America continues to take the lead in confronting rogue regimes and any nation who seeks to break international norms or undermine American interests. And we must hold nations who support terrorism accountable and prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Hassan works to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security has the resources, management, and capabilities in place to keep us safe from terrorist threats, cyber criminals, drug trafficking organizations, and natural disasters.
The Senator has also long been a champion for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which is integral to both our national security and New Hampshire’s economic vitality.
Protecting our communities is the most important responsibility of any government, and Senator Hassan is committed to working every day to ensure that all Granite Staters are safe and prepared for any emergency.
During her time as Governor, Senator Hassan focused on a comprehensive approach to combat the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis and help save lives, including supporting law enforcement and strengthening prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. Then-Governor Hassan also helped put more state troopers on the road, developed active shooter training for state employees, supported federal border patrol agents in the North Country, and established the New Hampshire Cybersecurity Integration Center (NHCIC).
As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Hassan is working to build on those efforts and ensure that local and state public safety officials have the federal support they need to keep Granite Staters and all Americans safe. She is working to help curb the importation of deadly fentanyl and other dangerous drugs and support drug interdiction efforts. The Senator is also focused on addressing the threat of homegrown terrorism, enhancing border security, and strengthening cybersecurity in order to keep New Hampshire and America safe, secure, and free.
The heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis is the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing New Hampshire, taking a massive toll on our communities, our workforce, and our economy.
During her time as Governor, Senator Hassan worked to implement a comprehensive strategy to support those on the front lines and help save lives. Working across party lines, she secured funding to strengthen treatment, prevention, recovery, and law enforcement efforts. Under her leadership, New Hampshire increased penalties for fentanyl distribution, began investigating overdose deaths as homicides, reformed the state’s prescribing rules, and expanded the state’s prescription drug monitoring system.
Under then-Governor Hassan’s leadership, New Hampshire successfully passed and reauthorized a bipartisan Medicaid expansion plan, one of the state’s most powerful tools in fighting the epidemic because it covers mental health and substance use disorder services.
Senator Hassan is building on those efforts in the Senate, fighting to secure additional resources for New Hampshire and standing up against attempts to repeal Medicaid expansion. She is also focused on stopping dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl from being shipped through our borders, helping law enforcement crack down on synthetic substances and better prosecute drug traffickers, and establishing a permanent funding stream to provide and expand access to substance use disorder treatment. And she is working across party lines to help ensure that health care providers and patients understand the addiction risks of so-called “abuse-deterrent” opioids.
The Senator has also spoken out on the need to end the stigma of addiction that prevents too many in New Hampshire and across America from reaching out to get help.
Senator Hassan is willing to work with anyone to help those struggling with addiction get the treatment that they need and to support all of the dedicated professionals on the front lines battling this crisis.
Senator Hassan supports a strong public education system that prepares our young people to participate in our democracy and compete in our workforce.
The Senator first got involved in public service as an advocate fighting to ensure that children like her son, Ben, who experiences severe disabilities, would receive a high-quality education at public schools in their communities.
As Governor, she worked to freeze college tuition at the University System for the first time in 25 years and lowered tuition at community colleges—and she continues to fight to bring down the cost of higher education. She believes we must expand Pell Grants, lower interest rates on student loans, and crack down on predatory for-profit colleges.
As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Senator is also focused on supporting strong K-12 public schools and empowering local school districts, students, and teachers. To ensure that students have the skills and innovative thinking necessary to compete for jobs in the 21st century economy, the Senator is working to strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and working to expand Career Technical Education (CTE) programs in high schools, including providing students with greater access to work-based learning opportunities.
Senator Hassan will continuing working to improve access to quality early childhood education, make higher education more affordable, and expand apprenticeship and job training opportunities.
Senator Hassan has always made maintaining fiscal responsibility and improving innovation and efficiency within government a top priority.
During her time as Governor, Senator Hassan enacted two fiscally responsible, balanced budgets that protected critical economic priorities for Granite Staters while holding the line against a sales or an income tax.
Senator Hassan has brought this same focus on fiscal responsibility, innovation, and efficiency in government spending to the U.S. Senate, advocating for biennial budgeting at the federal level to enhance oversight of taxpayer dollars. She is also working to increase transparency and efficiency in federal programs in order to cut wasteful government spending and to ensure that federal dollars are being put to their best use.
Senator Hassan is focused on expanding economic opportunity to ensure that everyone who works hard can get ahead and stay ahead, while also building the highly skilled workforce that innovative businesses need to grow and thrive.
The Senator has long made promoting entrepreneurship and supporting innovation a top priority. During her time as Governor, she laid out and implemented her Innovate NH plan – including working to hold down the cost of higher education, increasing and making permanent the R&D tax credit, and launching the award-winning “Live Free and Start” initiative.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Senator Hassan has continued this focus on fostering innovation, eliminating barriers for entrepreneurs, supporting measures to promote women-owned small businesses, increasing participation in the STEM fields, and expanding access to broadband.
The first bill Senator Hassan introduced was the Reigniting Opportunity for Innovators (ROI) Act, which would help provide the student loan debt relief necessary for entrepreneurs to start up and grow innovative small businesses. Through her work on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Senator is working to address our nation’s skills gap by supporting career and technical training, working to hold down the cost of student debt, and advocating for measures to support working families such as paid sick leave.
Every Granite Stater and American deserves the opportunity to have quality, affordable health insurance coverage to help them live healthy and productive lives. Senator Hassan knows that affordable health coverage and access to care are not just critical to the freedom, dignity, and well-being of our citizens, but also to the strength of our economy.
During her time as Governor, Senator Hassan worked to bring Democrats and Republicans together in New Hampshire to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Expanded Medicaid covers more than 50,000 hard-working Granite Staters and includes coverage for mental health and substance use disorder services.
Senator Hassan is willing to work with anyone who is serious about improving and building on the Affordable Care Act – but repeal is not the answer. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Senator is focused on strengthening our health care system and making care more affordable. To lower the cost of prescription drugs, the Senator supports measures including allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs and permitting the safe importation of drugs from countries such as Canada.
The Senator opposes politically motivated efforts to undermine women’s access to quality health care, such as attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, and is fighting to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. She will also stand up to protect the long-term viability of Medicare and will oppose any effort to privatize Medicare or turn it into a voucher system.
Senator Hassan first got involved in public service as an advocate fighting to ensure that children like her son, Ben, who experiences severe disabilities, would be fully included in their communities. Her advocacy on behalf of people who experience disabilities has informed her work in public service ever since.
The Senator continues to fight to ensure that individuals who experience disabilities receive the support they need to be fully included in our society, including at home, in school, and at work.
She will always stand up against any attempt to undermine the right of students with disabilities to have access to a free and appropriate education, as guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). She is fighting against attempts to undermine the traditional Medicaid program, which would be particularly devastating to efforts to help people who experience disabilities stay in their homes and fully participate in their communities. She is also committed to protecting and enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.
Senator Hassan has been clear that while we know that the work of inclusion is not always easy, we also know that when we fully include more people in our society and economy, our entire nation grows stronger.
Recognizing that all people deserve the right to fully participate in the social, civic, and economic life of our communities, Senator Maggie Hassan has long fought to advance the rights of LGBTQ Granite Staters.
During her time in the New Hampshire State Senate, Senator Hassan led efforts to make New Hampshire one of the first states in the nation to pass marriage equality. As Governor, she issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state government hiring and contracting on the basis of gender identity or gender expression.
Senator Hassan is continuing to fight for progress and advancing the rights of LGBTQ Granite Staters and all Americans. She supports the Equality Act, which would provide federal non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans, she is working to crack down on the dangerous and fraudulent practice of “conversion therapy,” and she will stand firm against any attempt to undermine marriage equality or roll back LGBTQ rights.
From the White Mountains to the Seacoast, to our pristine lakes and forests – New Hampshire’s natural resources are critical to our economy, our environment, and our way of life. Throughout her time in public service, Senator Hassan has always fought to protect our environment and has been a strong supporter of curbing the devastating impacts of climate change.
As a State Senator and then as Governor, she worked to create and strengthen the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and New Hampshire’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to maintain and grow the state’s clean, renewable energy sector. She also worked across party lines as Governor to raise the net metering cap in order to boost New Hampshire’s solar industry and ensure that it can continue to grow and thrive.
Senator Hassan is fighting to ensure that the federal government follows New Hampshire’s lead, working to bring people together to combat climate change, protect our beautiful natural resources, and build a more innovative and affordable clean energy future. The Senator strongly supports measures, such as the Clean Power Plan, to cut carbon emissions and is working to prevent oil and gas drilling off the East Coast. She also believes it is essential to appropriately fund programs that conserve and protect our nation’s natural resources.
Senator Hassan will stand firm against any effort to roll back critical environmental protections, including those that protect the water we drink and the air we breathe for future generations.
Senator Hassan is working to ensure that older Granite Staters and Americans have the support they need to remain active participants in our economic and civic life.
The Senator is fighting to protect and strengthen the long-term viability of Social Security and Medicare. She strongly opposes any attempt to privatize Medicare, turn Medicare into a voucher program, or increase the Medicare eligibility age. The Senator will also stand up against attempts to privatize or cut Social Security or raise the retirement age.
She opposes efforts to cut Medicaid, which provides home- and community-based care and nursing home care for thousands of New Hampshire seniors.
Senator Hassan also understands that in too many cases, seniors who live on a fixed income struggle with the high costs of the necessities of everyday life. She is focused on finding ways to address that issue, including working to lower the costs of prescription drugs and fighting to make affordable hearing aids available over-the-counter.
Small businesses are the engine of our economy, helping to drive innovative economic growth and create good-paying jobs. Senator Hassan has consistently made promoting entrepreneurship and supporting small businesses a top priority, and she is continuing to work across party lines to build a stronger workforce and give small businesses the support they need to succeed.
The first bill Senator Hassan introduced in the United States Senate was the Reigniting Opportunity for Innovators (ROI) Act, which would provide student loan debt relief for entrepreneurs to help them start up and grow innovative small businesses.
As a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Senator Hassan is focused on critical economic priorities for New Hampshire’s small businesses, including protecting Net Neutrality rules that ensure a level playing field, expanding access to broadband, and ensuring that small businesses have the tools necessary to better protect their digital assets from cyber security threats.
Senator Hassan has long fought to support the North Country’s people, businesses, and beautiful natural resources. As Governor, she worked to put more state troopers on the road, support federal border patrol efforts, and protect the North Country’s scenic views.
Senator Hassan is continuing to fight for North Country communities, including efforts to protect our environment and support New Hampshire’s travel and tourism industry. She is working on efforts to boost incentives for private development and encourage entrepreneurship in priority areas for economic development including the North Country. And she is focused on expanding rural broadband access – particularly where it is most challenging – to ensure that every New Hampshire business and community can get connected.
Senator Hassan is also advocating for protecting our northern border, supporting small businesses that foster economic growth in rural areas, safeguarding programs such as TIGER grants to invest in fixing roads and bridges, and strengthening the Northern Border Regional Commission to help spur economic and community development in northern New Hampshire.
America’s service members and veterans have demonstrated a selfless commitment to keeping our nation safe, secure, and free, and Senator Hassan is dedicated to ensuring that they have the support and services that they need and have earned.
As the daughter of a World War II veteran, Senator Hassan has worked throughout her time in public service to support our veterans, service members, and their families. During her time as Governor of New Hampshire, she supported efforts to improve veteran hiring, worked to combat veteran homelessness, and provided the New Hampshire State Veterans Home the funds necessary to serve additional veterans.
Senator Hassan believes that we must do more to improve the lives of veterans and service members in New Hampshire and across America. She is focused on addressing longstanding issues at the Department of Veterans Affairs and increasing accountability at the VA to ensure that veterans receive accessible, high-quality care – including behavioral health services and substance use disorder treatment. The Senator is also working on efforts to improve education and job training for veterans and service members and to promote veteran employment. And she is focused on building on efforts taken in New Hampshire to end veteran homelessness.
Senator Hassan will continue working with members of both parties to ensure that we honor our commitments to our veterans, service members, and their families.
Senator Hassan recognizes the importance of strong and modern transportation infrastructure to New Hampshire’s people, businesses, and economy.
As Governor, she signed a bipartisan, business-backed plan to fix highways, roads, and bridges throughout New Hampshire and to complete the long-overdue expansion of I-93.
As a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senator is focused on strengthening our transportation infrastructure to ensure that it meets the needs of a 21st century economy. Senator Hassan is fighting to protect federal funding for the successful TIGER grant and TIFIA loan programs, which have supported critical transportation infrastructure projects across New Hampshire.
She believes that infrastructure improvements must also include an investment in the extensive network of wastewater, drinking water, and storm water infrastructure that is now over 100 years old in some locations. With many pieces of infrastructure coming to the end of their useful lives, she is working to ensure that all Granite Staters have access to clean, safe drinking water, and that we reinvest in these critical systems that so many take for granted.
Senator Hassan also recognizes that the changing economy requires new infrastructure, and to help encourage innovation and drive economic growth, Senator Hassan is focused on expanding access to broadband and strengthening our telecommunications infrastructure.
And Senator Hassan is working to improve traveling conditions and ensure that travelers are treated with greater fairness and respect by the airline industry.
Senator Hassan will always fight to ensure that women have the freedom to make their own health care decisions and control their own destinies.
In order to compete on a level playing field economically and be full participants in our democracy, women need to be able to decide if and when to start a family, they must not be charged more than men for health care, and they must receive equal protections at work.
As Governor, she signed New Hampshire’s Paycheck Fairness Act to ensure that women earn equal pay for equal work and successfully pushed to restore funding to Planned Parenthood.
As too many in Washington continue to play partisan games with women’s health and equal rights, Senator Hassan is standing up to protect a woman’s constitutionally protected right to make her own reproductive health decisions as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. She is also working to stop harmful, misguided efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, which provides critical health care services to thousands of Granite State women, including preventive care, birth control, and cancer screenings.
The Senator will always fight to ensure that women across the country earn pay that is equal to their male colleagues, to protect access to affordable health care that includes contraception, and to advocate for common-sense paid family leave policies.
“Too many people are being left behind in today’s changing global economy, and we must do more to ensure that everyone who works hard has the opportunity to get ahead and stay ahead. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, my top priority is to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, while also building the highly skilled workforce that innovation based businesses need to grow and thrive.” – Senator Hassan
To help lay the foundation for the next generation of economic growth, Senator Hassan is focused on fostering innovation, eliminating barriers for entrepreneurs, increasing participation in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and expanding access to broadband.
As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Hassan introduced bipartisan legislation to double the refundable research and development (R&D) tax credit and extend it to more small businesses. The R&D tax credit supports the efforts of businesses to invest in the development of new, innovative products that lead to job creation and a stronger economy.
Additionally, as part of her efforts to support New Hampshire and America’s entrepreneurs, the first bill Senator Hassan introduced was the Reigniting Opportunity for Innovators (ROI) Act, which would help provide the student loan debt relief necessary for entrepreneurs to start up and grow innovative small businesses.
To ensure that our economy works for everyone, Senator Hassan has supported efforts to include more women, minorities, and people who experience disabilities in STEM fields.
Access to high-speed, reliable internet is also crucial to the success of people and businesses in the 21st century economy. Senator Hassan has been a leader in the push to expand high-speed internet to rural areas in New Hampshire and across the country.
To help close the urban-rural digital divide, Senator Hassan joined in introducing the bipartisan AIRWAVES Act, which establishes a spectrum pipeline that will provide more capacity for wireless providers to improve existing service and expand to new areas. Senator Hassan also introduced the bipartisan MAP Broadband Act to help improve the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mobile broadband coverage maps to ensure that federal investments in expanding broadband are directed toward areas – such as rural parts of New Hampshire – that need it the most.
Net neutrality is also critical to promoting innovation, supporting hard-working people, and encouraging economic growth. Net neutrality ensures that internet service providers treat all sites on the internet equally, and do not impede the ability of businesses and consumers to access certain services or information. Senator Hassan is working to try to overturn the FCC’s backward decision to repeal net neutrality protections.
Senator Hassan will continue fighting to ensure that all hard-working Granite Staters and Americans have the support and resources that they need to succeed in the 21st century innovation economy.