Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster

July 15, 2023

Hello Friends,

This week, in Washington, the House voted on the National Defense Authorization Act — sometimes called the NDAA — legislation that funds our military and defense operations for the year. As the daughter of a World War II veteran and prisoner of war, this legislation is deeply personal to me. As a sign of our shared commitment to our service members and their families, this package is typically passed with robust bipartisan support. However, the extreme Republican majority bucked that trend this year and politicized our military by adding extreme provisions to the legislation that would hurt our troops and undermine America’s national security.

I urge my Republican colleagues to stop playing politics with our nation’s service members.

Earlier this week, in my role as Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, I encouraged Speaker McCarthy to work with Democrats to find common ground on this critical legislation. The NDAA should focus on strengthening our military, increasing national defense, and promoting American leadership abroad, not partisan culture wars.

I will always fight for our men and women in uniform.

Instead of working across the aisle to come up with a bill that works for our country, the extreme majority pushed a bill that hurts our service members and strips them of their personal freedoms — with one amendment making it harder for service members to obtain an abortion or to access reproductive health care even in cases of rape and military sexual assault. That is unacceptable, and the incredible men and women who fight for our country in uniform deserve better than this legislation.

I’ll continue working with my colleagues in the Senate and reasonable Republicans to pass a responsible funding package that doesn’t politicize our service members and national security preparedness.

Modernizing Our Response to the Addiction and Mental Health Crisis

We must adapt our response to these twin epidemics.

This week, I was proud to co-lead the reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act in the Energy and Commerce Committee, legislation to update Congress’ response to the complicated challenges of mental health and substance use disorder and empower communities to respond to this epidemic.

Addiction and mental health touch every community in our nation — and every life lost to this epidemic is a tragedy. While we’ve taken great strides to expand access to treatment and recovery resources, this crisis continues to take lives across the country. This critical legislation will dedicate resources to vital public health programs and initiatives, invest in the mental health and substance use disorder workforce, and continue to expand access to treatment and recovery services.

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/46KWqjP

Investing in Local Food Networks

Food co-ops play an essential role in our local food systems.

Earlier this week in Lebanon, I met with the leadership of the Hanover Co-Op Food stores to hear about their operations and discuss how Congress can support Granite State farmers and producers in this year’s Farm Bill.

Access to fresh, affordable, locally-grown food strengthens our economy and helps our communities thrive. But, in rural areas across New Hampshire, access is not always possible, and food co-ops like the Hanover Co-Op play a crucial role in keeping our communities fed.

I’ll continue working with our local farmers and producers to expand access to fresh, local groceries in New Hampshire’s rural communities and across the country.

Closing the Digital Divide

Closing the digital divide calls for a coordinated federal implementation strategy.

I was proud to introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation this week that calls on the White House to develop and implement a national strategy to disperse federal broadband funding and close the digital divide.

Federal funding alone is not enough. We must invest the necessary time and planning to effectively allocate these resources to the communities that need it most.

I’ll continue working with my colleagues in Congress to deliver high-speed broadband and prevent wasteful, redundant spending to ensure communities across New Hampshire have access to affordable and reliable internet connectivity.

News You Can Use

Graphic courtesy of ReadyNH.gov.

Emergency Flooding Resources: As communities in New Hampshire and across New England experienced historic flooding this week, and while our brave first responders continue to assess the damage, I wanted to make sure you and your loved ones have access to local and state resources to respond and recover:

To receive public safety notices issued by the State of New Hampshire and severe weather warnings, sign up for NH Alerts.
Check the National Weather Service for weather updates.
Visit or call 511 for road closure information.
See this map for power outage information.
My team is here to assist you and help navigate federal agencies – you can call my Concord office at (603) 226-1002.
For more information about services and preparedness in New Hampshire, visit https://www.readynh.gov/.

Thank you to all the brave Granite State first responders, emergency workers, and local officials who responded quickly to the flooding here in New Hampshire and in Vermont. You are making our state and our country proud.

To stay updated on my work in Congress and around the Granite State and for important information and resources, like my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

I hope you have a safe and wonderful weekend!

Be bold, be brave, be kind.

Sincerely,

Annie

July 15, 2023

Modernizing Our Response to the Addiction and Mental Health Crisis

Investing in Local Food Networks

Closing the Digital Divide

News You Can Use

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