Dear Friend,

Today I am traveling to McAllen,Texas to bear witness to what is happening on our southern border and see how President Trump’s Executive Order to end family separation of asylum-seekers is being implemented, and how we can work across the aisle to enact meaningful reforms to address this crisis. I have critical questions that need to be answered:

-We’ve seen photos of detention centers holding boys, but where are the girls, toddlers and babies?

-What is the plan for reunification of the 2,300 children who have been separated from their parents?

-Is the President’s executive order actually preventing families from being separated?

The American people have a right to know what is being done to ensure that these children are safe and being properly cared for, which is why Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and I are leading a group of 60 Democratic women in pressing the Secretaries of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide details about immigrant children who are apart from their families. You can read our letter here. 

This week, the report on widespread water contamination from perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was finally released to the public. It’s unacceptable that the Trump Administration withheld this critical information on the safety of something as vital to life as water from the people of New Hampshire. I urge the Administration to be more transparent moving forward and I will continue to work with my colleagues to increase research on the health impacts of PFAS chemicals. Granite Staters and people across the country have the right to know what’s in their drinking water.

I am deeply disappointed with the budget proposal offered by House Republicans on Wednesday that would cut $537 billion from Medicare and $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and other health programs. Seniors, children, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable individuals deserve access to quality and affordable health care, and Medicaid and Medicare have helped to provide that access. The proposed cuts to these critical programs by the House GOP are heartless and reckless, and they will hamper rather than help our nation’s economic growth. I will fight this partisan attempt to weaken protections for the most vulnerable, and continue to work with my colleagues to ensure every American can get the care they need.

I also strongly oppose the Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, which paves the way for companies in New Hampshire to be forced to collect sales tax for other states. Small businesses in our state are not accustomed to collecting sales tax and this misguided ruling will subject them to thousands of taxing jurisdictions and burdensome red tape across the country. Online retail is a critical part of our economy, and this decision will have a real negative impact for small businesses and Granite Staters. 

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns or ideas you want to share. I love hearing from you! You can call my Concord office at 603-226-1002 or my Washington, DC office at 202-225-5206. 

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,