In her interview with Chris Ryan, Senator Maggie Hassan expressed her gratitude to healthcare workers, first responders, police officers, and even to the people providing childcare for these essential people on the frontlines during this crisis.
The senator also expressed her frustration with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been slow to provide necessary protection equipment, PPE, such as, masks, gloves, etc. to the Granite State.
The senator has pushed President Trump to fully implement his authority under the Defense Production Act to cause a surge in the production of PPE and ventilators.
When she was asked if New Hampshire will be able to deal with the number of cases expected when the COVID-19 virus peaks in the coming weeks, Senator Hassan’s answer was based on her experience as our former governor.
“New Hampshire’s public health officials have been preparing for this kind of event for a long time.”
It seems that plans have been made to use university hockey arenas and dorms as emergency hospitals, but these plans won’t be helpful unless additional protective equipment and ventilators are not secured.
Senator Hassan reemphasized the importance of everyone following the recommended precautions of social distancing, hand washing, etc. She cautioned that people should be patient. Increased testing capacity might make it seem that the sacrifices that we are making aren’t working because it will appear that the number of cases increased. The senator urged for continued following of the guidelines in order to prevent taxing our healthcare system because there will be a spike in the number of cases in about two weeks.
The second part of the interview dealt with the particulars of the recently passed CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act), and the need for a second stimulus package which would target in the country’s infrastructure. Senator Hassan described what priorities were considered when the CARES Act was being drafted. A major priority was to provide cash assistance to the people who have been put out of work by this crisis. The treasury department is planning ways to make direct deposit, checks, or debit card payments to those who are eligible.
A second concern of the lawmakers was to aid employers, especially small businesses. The loans made to businesses are forgiven if most of the work force remains on the payroll or if the business rehires its laid off workers. Senator Hassan and Congresswoman Kuster were hosting a Zoom Teleconference that afternoon with business leaders to explain the details of the CARE Act and to hear their concerns.
Senator Hassan also said that anyone with questions should call her office at 603-622-2204.
The last part of the interview was a discussion of the importance of another stimulus package which would deal with the country’s infrastructure. The senator was quite determined when she said,
“When we get through this pandemic, we will need to unleash the full U.S. economy. Growing the economy is the best way to get people back to work.”
Senator Hassan also believes that the best way to deal with our growing national debt and deficit is for the federal government to spend more to improve the country’s infrastructure. Our economy needs an increased investment in physical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and there must be increases in public health and broad band infrastructure.
