JANUARY 20th marked the first anniversary of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s inauguration. In just one year, the Biden-Harris administration has delivered for Granite Staters and Americans everywhere.
President Biden and Vice President Harris inherited a broken economy in the midst of a global pandemic, thanks to the fecklessness of the previous administration. Unemployment rates were at record highs, small businesses were closing, and New Hampshire families suffered in the face of an unprecedented public health crisis.
In addition to the hundreds of New Hampshire families that saw an empty chair at their dinner table due to COVID-19 in 2020, Granite Staters struggled with the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, as President Biden and Democrats took action to combat the pandemic, Governor Chris Sununu and the state GOP sat on the sidelines.
At every opportunity, state Republicans undermined public health initiatives. From blocking funds for vaccine support secured by the federal delegation, to frivolously suing over federal public health measures, New Hampshire Republicans showed they are willing to reject science and do everything they can to undermine our economic recovery for political gain.
With the Biden-Harris administration in office, help arrived. Thanks to President Biden, Vice President Harris, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, and Congresswoman Annie Kuster and Congressman Chris Pappas, Granite Staters are able to protect themselves from the COVID-19 virus with access to vaccines and boosters. Thanks to Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, New Hampshire received more than $1.4 billion in state fiscal relief, and $439 million in local relief.
Additionally, the American Rescue Plan delivered relief to New Hampshire families in the form of lower health care premiums. More than 5 million Americans who were previously uninsured now have access to quality, affordable health care. On top of this, the working parents of 222,000 children received significant tax cuts.
President Biden’s American Rescue Plan took care of Granite State kids by delivering $362.2 million in relief to public schools. As Gov. Sununu and GOP legislators wage war on public education by pushing costly school vouchers and so-called “divisive concepts” legislation, Democrats in D.C. and here at home are focused on getting us out of the pandemic and returning public schools to normal schedules safely.
But, that’s just one of the major accomplishments that President Biden and Democrats delivered this past year. Last fall, President Biden visited Woodstock to talk about what the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will do for New Hampshire. When we think about this infrastructure package, we of course think about the historic investments in our roads and bridges, but that’s just the beginning. This historic legislation that Senators Shaheen and Hassan and Representatives Kuster and Pappas helped usher through Congress provides $418 million for clean water infrastructure to replace lead pipes and protect our communities from PFAS, $100 million for affordable high-speed internet access to the 42,800 people in New Hampshire who currently lack it, as well as $12.4 million to protect the Granite State from cyber threats, both foreign and domestic.
Finally, in addition to the $1.1 billion for highway construction and $225 million for bridge replacement and repairs that New Hampshire will see over the next five years, President Biden and Democrats are ensuring that our towns will be ready in the face of powerful storms and extreme weather by investing a historic $3.5 billion to better prepare for extreme weather conditions.
Any of these accomplishments alone would mark four years of a successful presidency, yet President Biden, Vice President Harris, and New Hampshire Democrats in Congress delivered these accomplishments in just one year! I am thankful for the hard work of the Biden-Harris administration and our federal delegation to improve the lives of all Granite Staters. While Republicans in New Hampshire have been hindering our pandemic recovery efforts, refusing to invest in our infrastructure and working against Granite State families, our Democratic representatives in Washington have been fighting for us.
Thank you President Biden, Vice President Harris, Senators Shaheen and Hassan, Representatives Kuster and Pappas, for all that you have delivered for New Hampshire in one, very busy year. It’s been an exciting 365 days, and I am so excited to see what the next several years hold.
Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) was a 2020 New Hampshire presidential elector for President Joe Biden.
BusinessNH magazine recently ran a cover story on the wonders of DEI — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. While the education establishment has foisted highly paid DEI coordinators on us for years, businesses are now doing likewise.
CIRCLE PROGRAM has been providing an empowering, transformative and enriching summer camp experience to socially and economically disadvantaged girls from all over New Hampshire for nearly 30 years. In addition to summer camp, our campers receive mentorship with individual and group activiti…
IN THE SPRING of 1985, our youngest child — just 9 years old — exhibited symptoms our pediatrician thought were likely benign but could portend the presence of a life-threatening illness.
FOR THE first time since 2018, Republicans in Washington have control of the House of Representatives. However, after last year’s midterms, the GOP only managed to earn a razor-thin majority in Congress’ lower chamber, and Democrats retained control of the Senate.
NEW HAMPSHIRE’s Community Mental Health Centers are requesting that policymakers and budget writers increase Medicaid reimbursement rates in a meaningful way in 2023. The 10 nonprofit centers that make up the community-based mental health system provide critical services to more than 60,000 …
SUNSHINE WEEK has come and gone. This newspaper has stated: “Trust in public institutions relies on our ability to shine sunlight wherever we find shadows.”
THE GOVERNOR’S proposed 10% cost of living adjustment to state employee wages is prudent, economically modest, and a necessary response to market signals on the state labor force. To suggest otherwise is to misread 40 years of state history and to deny the destructive effects of inflation th…
AT THE END of 2022, the New Hampshire Judicial Branch launched a diversity and inclusion initiative to ensure that everyone is provided with equal access to justice, and to eliminate unconscious cultural biases within the court system. The strategic plan is already underway and features a ha…
OUR NATION spends billions of dollars each year pursuing ISIS and al-Qaeda while other terrorist groups kill at least 70,000 Americans a year by supplying Chinese fentanyl across our border from Mexico. In terms of a threat, the Americans killed here in one day by fentanyl overdoses far exce…
