Q: Senator Hassan, would you campaign with Joe Biden?
A: “The President of the United States is always welcome in New Hampshire, but it is way too early to think about what campaign schedules would look like.”
In an interview with WGIR’s Chris Ryan, Senator Maggie Hassan gives an assessment of the Biden Administration’s first year in office; reacts to a St. Anselm’s poll which says the 74% of Granite Staters believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction; sidesteps whether she will campaign with President Biden; discusses how the infrastructure bill will benefit Portsmouth Harbor; answers why she didn’t choose to withhold her vote to get leverage for New Hampshire like Senator Manchin did for West Virginia; and outlines how she will work for lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
In her evaluation of the Biden Administration, Senator Hassan takes the problems which were inherited from the previous administration into account. She gives the Biden team credit for getting 200 million Americans vaccinated; providing aid to reopen our schools; and passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which will make America more competitive with China.
On the negative side of the ledger, the Senator feels that the Biden Administration was slow in reacting to the spread of the Omicron outbreak. She added that they had to be pushed to release more petroleum from our reserves to react to inflationary gasoline and heating oil prices.
Senator Hassan is hopeful that the provisions in infrastructure bill which deal with increasing our manufacturing base, the trucking industry, and by improving our ports and waterways, it will help in solving our supply chain problems.
St. Anselm’s College Survey Center released results of a poll of 1,215 registered New Hampshire voters who responded to this question, “Is our country headed in the right direction, or have things gotten off on the wrong track?”
The response to the poll should sound an alarm for an incumbent, like Maggie Hassan, running for office in 2022. Only 16% said “Right Direction”; a shocking 74% chose “Wrong Direction”; and 10% had no opinion.
The Senator attributed the poor poll numbers to the nation being tired and frustrated. She vows to work to fight higher costs by lowering prescription drug and childcare costs.
When she was asked if she would campaign with Joe Biden on October 28, 2022, Senator Hassan said, “The President of the United States is always welcome in New Hampshire, but it is way too early to think about what campaign schedules would look like.”
Senator Hassan explains that the infrastructure bill contains $1.6 million which will help with a project to revitalize Portsmouth by widening the turning basin in the harbor, which will give access for cargo ships. Hopefully, this will help to alleviate supply chain issues.
By working within the system and being part of the legislative process, Senator Hassan believes that she has done more for New Hampshire than by being a roadblock like Senators Manchin or Sinema.
In the last portion of the interview, Senator Hassan blames big pharma for using its influence in Washington and in state capitals to keep drug prices high. The Senator has worked to end surprise billing, and she is pushing for lower premiums for the Affordable Care Act.