SIGNED INTO LAW: Annual Funding Bills With Hassan-Led Measures to Lower Health Care Costs, Provide Support for NH Families

WASHINGTON - Today, the President signed into law five annual bipartisan appropriations bills, which include several provisions led and backed by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to help lower costs for Granite Staters. Notably, the funding agreement includes Senator Hassan's bills to lower prescription drug prices and reduce health care costs for patients. As part of the bipartisan agreement to pass these bills, Senator Hassan also helped establish an urgent two-week window for Congress to reach an agreement on meaningful reforms to rein in the outrageous, unacceptable behavior by ICE under this Administration.

"As sky-high costs continue to impact families in every corner of our state and country, I'm glad that Congress passed these annual funding bills, which will help Granite Staters, while also pushing back on this Administration's attempts to gut the federal resources that people count on," said Senator Hassan. "I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to lower costs and ensure that all people, no matter where they live, are able to thrive - while I also work to keep our communities safe by holding ICE accountable for its outrageous lawlessness."

Senator Hassan's health care priorities that passed the Senate as part of the legislation include:

• The Increasing Transparency in Generic Drug Applications Act, bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan introduced to speed the approval of generic drugs by ending the lengthy guessing game that manufacturers currently go through with the FDA, enabling generic drugs to get to market sooner, lowering prices for consumers, and saving taxpayer dollars
• The Fair Billing Act, bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan introduced to increase transparency for patients when they receive health care at a hospital-owned clinic away from the hospital and lay the groundwork to end unfair hospital facility fees for care provided at a doctor's office
• The Patients Before Middlemen (PBM) Act, bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan helped introduce to help stop pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from driving up prescription drug prices for seniors
• Increased funding for community health centers through the end of September
• Increased funding for state opioid response grants, bringing the total to $1.6 billion nationwide

The funding legislation also includes several other measures backed by Senator Hassan to lower costs and support New Hampshire families, including:

• Supporting our service members: Funds a 3.8% pay raise for America's service members
• Protecting our national security: Provides funding for Virginia-class submarines that are repaired and updated at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
• Helping Find New Cures: Provides a $400 million increase in NIH funding to advance cutting-edge medical research, rejecting President Trump's attacks on this work
• Lowering Energy Bills: Increases funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps lower energy bills for Granite Staters, especially in the cold of winter
• Protecting Granite Staters' Hard-Earned Benefits:Increases Social Security Administration funding, while also directing SSA to take steps to avoid field office closures, reduced office hours, and increased delays to appointments for beneficiaries seeking in-person support
• Investing in Our Future: Increases funding for Child Care and Development Block Grant and Head Start programs, which help families afford child care, and rejects President Trump's effort to slash Pell Grant funding
• Assessing AI's Impact on Jobs: Encourages the Bureau of Labor Statistics to evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence on job creation and job loss, a key component of bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan helped introduce
• Ensuring That Every Student is Included: Increases funding for IDEA Special Education State grant programs - and continues all IDEA national programs, rejecting President Trump's attacks on students with disabilities
• Helping Granite Staters Make Rent: Provides critical funding for rental assistance programs, as well as for programs to help homeless Granite Staters
• Creating More Pathways to Good-Paying Jobs: Invests in registered apprenticeships and workforce training through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grants to states, and provides funding for areas served by the Northern Border Regional Commission to support workforce training pipelines
• Safeguarding the programs and services that Granite Staters rely on: Rejects President Trump's efforts to gut and eliminate Job Corps, AmeriCorps, Institute of Museum and Library Services, the GEAR UP and TRIO programs, and funding for adult education, among others

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