Jeanne Shaheen

I just returned from a trip to Kiev with my colleagues, Senators Murphy and Portman, who were also along.

The other piece is a future Afghanistan that does not uphold these basic rights, including the gains made for women and girls, is going to be a pariah internationally.

One of the things we heard very loudly from our Ukrainian partners was just how devastating the loss of revenue will be once Russians stop using Ukraine as a transit route.

I hope that you will commit to doing everything you can to get that border opened so that the hardship that my constituents and other constituents are experiencing will end.

Hopefully this is something we will see change very soon.

I appreciate that this was done to address COVID challenges on either side of the border, but as we are having more and more people vaccinated, it has become less of an issue in the United States.

These allegations are very troubling, and it is my understanding that shortly after you were sworn in, ITMS was ordered to pause all criminal investigations.

I think the sooner we can get that border open the better in terms of commerce.

I would appreciate anything that you can do.

I think it is really helpful for all of us who see this as a concern to raise it, both here and in Canada.

Can you commit that you will help us continue to look at that and try and help ensure that we can cover some of those costs for the fishing industry that is really in dire straits?

I hope that you will keep this subcommittee informed as your investigation unfolds, and as you come up with recommendations for how to address the situation going forward.

Thank you to you, Dr. Collins, and everyone at NIH for all of your hard work over the last very difficult year and for everything else you are doing.

I have been hearing from small businesses across my state who are desperate for the release of additional H-2B visas this year.

I appreciate the guidance that was just provided to--by the Department to New Hampshire yesterday.

So do I have your commitment that the Department will continue to work with the State of New Hampshire?

As you know, Congress has provided nearly $200 billion for emergency relief for elementary and secondary schools as a result of the COVID pandemic.

I continue to hear from hospitals and nursing homes in New Hampshire that are running on tight budgets after significant financial losses due to the pandemic.

I'm very supportive of that proposal, but I just want to point out that that is $60 billion not necessarily going to consumers.

Well, now that we are seeing COVID in our rear-view mirror, it will really be important to get back to some of those programs so that we can reach people, so that we can make progress, and I appreciate the commitment that you have.

If they can do it, we ought to be able to do it, and we should make this a priority.

I'm very glad that Senator Murray and Chairman Pallone have kicked off a process by which we're going to, I gather, start to come up with a path forward on a public option.

Senator Merkley and I have introduced what we believe to be the sort of most aggressive public option.

Thank you to you, Dr. Collins, and everyone at NIH for all of your hard work over the last very difficult year and for everything else you are doing.

I hope that you will weigh in, if you have the opportunity, with the administration on the importance of the set-aside funding for States like New Hampshire that have been hardest hit.