WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) released the following statement after President Biden unveiled his comprehensive infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan:

“All Granite Staters deserve safe roads, clean water, high speed internet and access to good-paying jobs – these investments and more can’t come soon enough as we recover from this economic crisis. It’s been decades since we’ve invested in our infrastructure in a meaningful way, but now we have an opportunity to repair crumbling infrastructure that threatens our safety and security, while creating jobs and bolstering our domestic supply chain,” said Shaheen. “From expanding access to quality broadband and investing in manufacturing to repairing our bridges, highways and roads, New Hampshire’s infrastructure priorities must be met and I’m eager to work with the Biden administration to make that happen.”

Shaheen has long fought to bring federal dollars back to New Hampshire to invest in critical transportation and infrastructure projects to fix Granite State roads, rail, bridges and ports. In 2019, Shaheen reintroduced legislation, the Strengthen and Fortify Existing (SAFE) Bridges Act to begin to address the more than 47,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. Shaheen also introduced legislation that would create a national infrastructure initiative to fund innovative projects that promote energy efficiency while meeting significant transportation needs.

A senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen has historically secured federal funding for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant program – formerly known as the TIGER Grant program. In Fiscal Year 2021 government funding legislation, Shaheen helped secure funding for the BUILD Grant program, totaling $1 billion. In November 2019, Shaheen announced a $12 million BUILD grant for a NHDOT bridge project. In 2018 the Pease Development Authority received a $7.5 million BUILD grant to rehabilitate the wharf at the Market Street Terminal, and in 2017 New Hampshire received a $10 million BUILD grant for the I-89 bridge connecting New Hampshire and Vermont. BUILD/TIGER grants have provided critical funds to a number of important projects in New Hampshire, including the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, improvements to Main Street in downtown Concord and to upgrade the Northcoast Railroad freight line between Rochester and Ossipee.

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