Ayotte Applauds NH Provisions in Transportation, Military Construction Appropriations Bill

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte applauded the Senate's passage last week of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2017, which included several key provisions she fought for to help improve New Hampshire's infrastructure, support Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY), Pease Air National Guard Base, and the New Hampshire National Guard, as well as battle the heroin and prescription opioid abuse epidemic.

"I was pleased that last week's bill included a number of provisions I fought for that will support key New Hampshire priorities including ensuring our National Guard and PNSY have the infrastructure they need to perform their critical missions and focusing on improvements to our roads, bridges, and highways," said Senator Ayotte. "I'm disappointed that other measures I supported to extend the Veterans Choice Program and support New Hampshire's contractors were blocked, but I will continue to push for these priorities in the Senate."

KEY AYOTTE PROVISIONS INCLUDED

* Supporting PNSY, Pease, and NH National Guard: As chair of the Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, which oversees military construction projects, Ayotte successfully included language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last week to authorize several construction projects at PNSY and Pease Air National Guard Base, as well as two projects for the New Hampshire Army National Guard. Yesterday's legislation fully funds all these projects, including three military construction projects at PNSY worth more than $74 million, two military construction projects for the NH National Guard for vehicle maintenance shops worth $19.9 million, and one military construction project at Pease for a $1.5 million KC-46A Fuselage Trainer.

AYOTTE-BACKED PROVISIONS BLOCKED

* Extending the Veterans Choice Program: Ayotte cosponsored and supported an amendment that would have extended the Veterans Choice Program (VCP) for 3 years. The amendment would have also standardized payments for participating community health care providers, but was blocked from further consideration on the Senate floor.

* Clarifying Regulations for NH's Truckers: Along with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ayotte introduced an amendment that would have clarified federal law regarding trucking weight limits in New Hampshire. Meant to complement the bipartisan law passed by the New Hampshire state legislature earlier this year, the amendment would ensure that New Hampshire would not lose critical federal highway funding for maintaining its long-standing commercial truck weights on the state's interstate highways - the same limits that have been in place for the last 25 years. While Ayotte's amendment was blocked on the Senate floor, she renewed her commitment today to continuing to fight for this common sense update for New Hampshire's trucking industry.

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