U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) presided over her first hearing as chair of the Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee. In her remarks today, Senator Ayotte discussed the importance of New Hampshire's national security assets to our nation, including the New Hampshire National Guard, Pease Air National Guard Base and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Ayotte also reiterated her opposition to the administration's request for another Base Realignment and Closure round.
EXCERPTS OF OPENING REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY:
"...I had the opportunity to welcome the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Welsh, to Pease Air National Guard Base last month where we discussed ongoing preparations for the KC-46A. In anticipation of the arrival of the KC-46A, I am pleased that the $41.9 million in military construction projects at Pease Air National Guard Base that we authorized last year in the fiscal year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are moving ahead. More specifically, the projects to modernize the aircraft ramp refueling system, reconfigure the airfield's parking apron and taxi lanes, and expand and upgrade two aircraft hangars are on track.
"I am also pleased that the Department is requesting $2.8 million for fiscal year 2016 for an upgrade to the flight simulator building at Pease. This will allow KC-46A pilots at Pease, as well as pilots from around the region and country, to augment their flight training with cost-efficient simulator training that is essential to maintain proficiency.
"While there is very positive MILCON progress for the New Hampshire Air National Guard military construction, I am troubled by the condition of New Hampshire Army National Guard readiness centers-a trend that I know is reflected around the country. However, the condition of readiness centers in New Hampshire is particularly unacceptable. The average condition index (CI) of New Hampshire Army National Guard readiness centers is Poor (64 out of a 100 scale), ranking New Hampshire 51 out of the 54 states and territories evaluated nationwide.
"The Manchester readiness center was constructed in 1938 and does not comply with building code standards-as well as life, health, safety and Anti-terrorism Force Protection standards. Members of the New Hampshire Army National Guard-and service members like them around the country-deserve better.
"I am pleased that the Department is finally requesting funding for New Hampshire Army National Guard vehicle maintenance shops in Hooksett and Rochester for fiscal year 2017, as well as a readiness centers in Pembroke and Concord for fiscal years 2018 and 2020, respectively. Considering the poor state of New Hampshire Army National Guard facilities, it is essential that these projects not be postponed and that they go forward as currently scheduled.
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"I also look forward to addressing the MILCON situation at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard-which is the Navy's center of excellence for fast attack submarine maintenance, modernization, and repair. I would like to get an update on the P-266 structural shops consolidation reprogramming. I also look forward to discussing two other military construction projects that I understand have been delayed from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2018: P309 crane rail and P285 barracks."
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Senator Ayotte has joined Democrats from Virginia and Massachusetts to propose a bill dealing with the heroin and prescription pain killer epidemic: Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act to protect first responders, health professionals and family members who are educated in administering an opioid overdose prevention drug, such as naloxone (also known as Narcan) in an emergency situation of overdose. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks. The Union Leader's Drew Cline mumbled the following story into his cellphone while weeping in a pool of blood: Kelly Ayotte is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate, which is where she wants to be and where the Republican Party wants her to stay. She is not running for vice president, and both she and her staff wish people would stop mentioning her as a potential vice presidential pick. And yet, people keep doing that — a lot. Sometimes they can’t help themselves. Good and bad news on the effort to better deal with mental health issues. Governor Hassan: Continuing efforts to implement last year's landmark mental health settlement and strengthen community-based mental health care in New Hampshire, Governor Maggie Hassan today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (New Hampshire Housing) an $8.6 million federal grant to provide rental assistance for people with severe mental illness. U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) this week re-introduced the Mental Health First Aid Act, bipartisan legislation to expand mental health first aid training and help the public identify, understand, and address crisis situations safely. The bill is being cosponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Rob Portman (R-OH) Jack Reed (D-RI), Dean Heller (R-NV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). The state’s mental health settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and funding in 2013 for elements of the 2008 10-year mental health plan are regularly cited as examples of how well New Hampshire is meeting its obligations to citizens with mental illness. However, while $28 million was appropriated two years ago, it appears that nearly $12 million of that investment has not been made. The programs which were authorized and funded – but which have not been implemented – include: Kelly Ayotte was among the Republican Senators who signed the controversial letter to the leadership of Iran: NPR reports: "Coming two weeks before the deadline to reach general terms with Iran, the signatories wrote that they had been observing the negotiations over potentially relaxing the economic sanctions - and told Iran's leaders they were concerned 'that you may not fully understand our constitutional system.'" She released a statement on her decision: “A nuclear-armed Iran would pose a serious threat to the United States, Israel, and the world, and I am deeply concerned that the agreement the Obama administration is pursuing would allow Iran to continue its acts of regional terrorism and simply delay – and not dismantle – its nuclear weapons program. Congress led the effort to impose the toughest possible sanctions, which brought Iran to the negotiating table. With so much at stake, I believe the Senate should have an opportunity to review any agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran and vote to approve or disapprove that agreement.” Senators Shaheen and Ayotte are struggling mightily to restore heating oil assistance according to a garbled phone message John Distaso left before a blacking out at the bitter end of a week long morphine fueled bender. It’s an issue that transcends party politics and unites members of Congress based on geography. In other news, the Federal Energy Information Administration projects falling fuel oil prices . . . In its December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA expects that average heating oil expenditures by households that use oil as their primary heating fuel during the 2014-15 winter will be 27% ($632) below last winter's expenditures. Heating oil prices have declined with crude oil prices, and EIA expects U.S. heating oil prices to average $3.09 per gallon (gal) this winter, 20% lower than last winter, and 15% lower than expected in the October Winter Fuels Outlook (Table 1). Sen. Kelly Ayotte says that while she is unsure on the exact details of who is responsible for the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, it has Russia’s fingerprints all over it. High above the dark fortress of Stormguard, in the Scribe's tower, three young interns labored with the scratching of quills to bring forth this press release: Continuing her efforts to address the growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) announced today she is backing legislation that would allow for the swift and safe return of unaccompanied minors to their families in their home countries. The Children Returning on an Expedited and Safe Timeline (CREST) Act, introduced by U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), would change current law to allow for the expedited return of unaccompanied minors to their home countries, increase the number of immigration judges to more quickly dispose of cases, establish requirements to ensure individuals appear in court, and set conditions on foreign aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Senator Ayotte has teamed up with Senator Feinstein to file a new bill that requires doctors to give women more information about mammograms: Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) today introduced the Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act, which would improve breast cancer detection by requiring mammogram reports to include whether a woman has dense tissue, so she can discuss with her doctor if she should seek additional screening. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. Senator Ayotte has responded to the Hobby Lobby ruling by filing a new bill with minority leader McConnell and Senator Fischer: The Preserving Religious Freedom and a Woman's Access to Contraception Act affirms that employers cannot prohibit a woman from accessing contraception or any other FDA-approved drug or medical device; requests that the Food and Drug Administration study whether prescription contraceptives could be made available safely to adults without a prescription; and lifts the Obamacare cap on Flexible Spending Accounts and restores the use of Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts to cover over-the-counter medication - giving women and families more purchasing power. |