Maggie Hassan

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Frank LaSorsa of Stratham, Larry Larkin of Dover, Junious and Bette Owens of Stratham, and members of the Pease Greeters as October's Granite Staters of the Month. As part of the Pease Greeters, Frank, Larry, Junious, and Bette have made sure that servicemembers traveling through Portsmouth International Airport see a friendly face when they are in New Hampshire. Since 2005, the Pease Greeters have shown up day and night to greet servicemembers both leaving and reentering the United States on military deployments, welcoming and seeing off more than 2,600 flights from all branches of the military. Portsmouth International Airport is often the last airport in the United States for soldiers who are deploying and the first stop back in the country on their way home. The Pease Greeters ensure that these servicemembers are met with a smile and a kind word during their journey. The Pease Greeters have been powered by many volunteers over the years, and some of their longest serving volunteers have helped make the organization the mainstay that it is today for servicemembers. Frank LaSorsa, a Vietnam-era veteran, has been a member of the Pease Greeters since 2009, when he was invited to join the group at a funeral for a soldier. He has been with the Greeters ever since and says that the most rewarding part of greeting is seeing the smile on a returning servicemember's face. Larry Larkin and Junious and Bette Owens have all been with the Pease Greeters for 20 years. All of the Pease Greeters emphasize that greeting is a team effort and that it would not be possible without each volunteer's help. Frank, Larry, Junious, Bette, and the rest of the Pease Greeters' dedication to our servicemembers is a true example of the Granite State spirit of honoring those who serve. Their commitment to greeting servicemembers at any time of day or night is why I am honored to name them October's Granite Staters of the Month.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. As you were talking and as I have been thinking about the various ways in which a true democracy delivers results for its people--I mentioned in my prior question the fact that we passed in 2022 the PACT Act. You know, I was with a group of veterans right after we passed the PACT Act, and I thanked them for all the advocacy that they had done to get it over the finish line. Then we got to talking about the war in Ukraine and why it was so important to stand up with the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for the very freedom, for the very form of government that we so cherish-- our democracy. I found myself asking them a question, and I will ask it to you now, Senator: Would Vladimir Putin take care of his veterans the way the PACT Act proposes to take care of our veterans? What are your thoughts about that?

Ms. HASSAN. Would you yield for another question, Senator?

Ms. HASSAN. First of all, my question starts with a thank-you, Senator Merkley, for raising the issue of the growing threat of authoritarianism in our country. I thank you for noting and being a champion of the very principle that our country was founded on, which is that we are a country--a government--of, by, and for the people. As I think about what that principle means, I think about the fact that in a democracy, what our Founders wanted to ensure was that our governing bodies, our elected officials, would, in fact, be accountable to the people. So what does being accountable to the people you represent mean? Well, about 50 years ago, this Congress came together and, in a bipartisan way, passed something called the IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Why? Because families all across this country, from every political persuasion, understood that their children with disabilities could learn and thrive if they had access to public education just the way other kids did. Because families spoke up, because individuals spoke up, we now have seen 50 years of IDEA special education in our schools. We have more work to do in that direction, to be sure. We need to get more resources to our local schools the way the IDEA originally promised we would from the Federal Government. But because families demanded it and their elected representatives heard them and listened and acted and believed they were accountable to them, the quality of life for children and families with disabilities has improved exponentially. Then I think about Medicaid expansion. When I was Governor of New Hampshire and the Affordable Care Act passed, one of the things that States had the opportunity to do was adopt expanded Medicaid so that people who had mental illness, for instance, or substance use disorder, addiction, could get care under Medicaid, or people who were working part time and had chronic illnesses could actually get healthcare. At first, in a divided legislature--a legislature that was one Chamber Democratic and one Chamber Republican--the Republicans blocked Medicaid expansion. But gradually, the people in my State of New Hampshire, the ``Live Free or Die State,'' spoke up, spoke out, and said: This is really important to our families. As a result, we found bipartisan agreement to expand Medicaid and provide health insurance coverage so that people could get better and could get fully employed and could then go on to private insurance-- something that is critically important. Again, this happened because the people in my State--the elected leaders in my State believed they were accountable to their constituents. Now, I think a lot about authoritarian regimes and their lack of accountability because authoritarians don't believe that they are accountable to the people; they believe that their people are their subjects and are accountable to them. That, of course, is what we are seeing from Donald Trump right now. I think about the fact that in 2022, we passed in this body the PACT Act, and it was signed into law. That is the law that provides healthcare to our veterans who have been made ill from toxic exposure during their service. These are our brave heroes that we owe everything to, that we owe our very freedoms to. And this body came together because veterans all across this country--and their families and their supporters--came forward and said: We have been made ill in our service. We need healthcare. And we came together, and on a bipartisan basis, because we believe and know that in a democracy, we are accountable to the people, we then delivered something so that the people--the veterans, our heroes, the people that we owe the most to, that we owe our way of life to--could get the healthcare they needed. That is the difference that having elected leaders in a democracy makes. So, as I think about this administration taking healthcare away from millions of Americans right now, one of the challenges we are facing is that people who get their health insurance on healthcare.gov--those premiums are due to at least double on November 1. In my home State, that means that a 60-year-old couple earning $85,000 a year is likely to see their health insurance go up by $14,000 a year. A recent report says that if you are family of four in New Hampshire and earn $100,000 a year, you cannot make ends meet because of the cost of housing and groceries and energy, daycare, healthcare. So we now have an administration led by a President whose authoritarian tendencies you have laid out so well who is standing idly by while this healthcare calamity is facing us, because, of course, it is not just people who get their health insurance on healthcare.gov who will see their costs skyrocket; it is going to be the entire health insurance premium marketplace that is going to see increases. So we are looking at a President who is busy building ballrooms, buying vanity airplanes for his Secretary of Homeland Security, doing all these things to satisfy himself and the people around him but who doesn't seem to believe he is actually accountable to the people. I always thought that in the United States of America, we weren't subjects to be ruled; we were citizens to be heard. So, Senator Merkley, can you speak a bit to how this administration's attacks on our democracy have real impacts on the day-to-day lives of Americans?

Ms. HASSAN. Will the Senator yield for a question?

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Brenda Gallagher of Meredith and Pam Halsey of Center Harbor as September's Granite Staters of the Month. Pam and Brenda have tirelessly worked to protect our environment, including by promoting the preservation of habitats for New Hampshire birds. Pam and Brenda share a love of swimming and a deep appreciation for the loon, a black and white bird that is prolific in the Lakes Region, and is known for its haunting call. The loon is a symbol of the wild beauty of our State, but the local birds have been threatened by lead poisoning from fishing tackles. Brenda's aunt was one of the founding members of the Loon Preservation Committee and taught Brenda the importance of safeguarding the birds and their habitats. Both women grew up vacationing on Lake Winnipesaukee and now live in the Lakes Region full-time. In 2015, the two friends decided to swim around the islands of Lake Winnipesaukee to raise awareness of both loon preservation and the importance of maintaining good water quality in New Hampshire's lakes. Continuing their advocacy for New Hampshire's lakes, this year Pam and Brenda decided to push themselves even further and tackle all of the islands in Squam Lake. During the months of July and August, they swam around 28 of Squam's islands, islands that ranged in circumference from 0.12 miles to 2.6 miles, completing swims around one to four islands per day as part of their goal to swim around each island. And they weren't alone on these swims. In addition to friends and family who helped ferry them out to the islands in small boats and kept them safe from other oncoming boats, they were also often joined by loons. The daunting feat was their way of raising awareness for their cause of protecting loons and New Hampshire's lakes. Pam and Brenda's dedication to the conservation of our State's lakes and wildlife is a true example of the Granite State spirit of outdoor stewardship. Their steadfast and heartfelt commitment to New Hampshire's wilderness is why I am privileged to name them September's Granite Staters of the month.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, the Senate just passed a major bipartisan package to reauthorize the SUPPORT Act, and it is headed to President Trump's desk. Today is proof that despite our differences, bipartisan progress is possible. I am particularly pleased to be here with my colleague and chair of the HELP Committee Senator Cassidy, who has been instrumental in this fight and who will speak in just a moment. To our first responders, know that training and equipment are coming to help make your job easier. To our healthcare providers, know that resources are coming to help people get and stay in recovery. To those battling addiction, know that support is on the way. I am deeply grateful to a number of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and I am looking forward to Senator Cassidy's comments just now. I am also grateful to Senator Sanders for working with me on getting this done as well as the advocates who knew we could not give up in this fight. This package will save lives, and I look forward to continuing to make available every tool we have to stop fentanyl. I yield the floor.

Ms. HASSAN. I further ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise today to pass into law a lifesaving bipartisan legislation that will enable us to keep fighting the opioid and fentanyl epidemic, an epidemic that has destroyed families and devastated communities all across our country. Our country faces many challenges, and I am sure we will continue to debate in the coming weeks how to address those, but today we will advance, on a bipartisan basis, lifesaving legislation that we know is working to combat fentanyl. New data from earlier this summer found that drug overdose deaths dropped 27 percent last year, compared to the prior year. Since the advent of the opioid crisis, we now have a much better sense of what works to prevent and treat addiction, the resources we need to do so, and the light that exists on the other end of this terrible tunnel. But we can only get there if we keep up the fight. The SUPPORT Act of 2018, signed into law by President Trump during his first term, established vital addiction treatment infrastructure. Reauthorizing this bipartisan law is essential to our addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. For example, the act includes funding for addiction treatment for pregnant women and funds for training and equipment to help first responders in this fight. The original SUPPORT Act passed the Senate with 98 votes, and this bipartisan reauthorization passed the House with 366 votes. Now the Senate will send it to the President's desk. While we have made progress in this fight, we cannot be complacent. While there are still too many families and communities ravaged by addiction, we cannot despair. Nothing less than people's lives depend on us acting. Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2483 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Sarah Guinther of Bow as August's Granite Stater of the Month. Sarah donates half of the proceeds she makes from her cookie company, Maddi Hatter, to domestic violence support organizations and women's shelters. Twelve years ago, Sarah started Maddi Hatter Cookie Company, named after her 9-year-old daughter Maddi, while continuing to work her full- time sales job. Sarah has always loved to bake, and she wanted to focus on becoming an expert in making cookies. As a survivor of domestic violence and as a survivor of child abuse, Sarah also knew that she wanted any business venture that she started to support organizations that helped other survivors. That is why from the outset, Sarah either donated her Maddi Hatter revenues to charity or invested them back in the business. Today, Maddi Hatter has baked thousands of cookies and raised more than $7,000 in donations and goods for charity. Maddi Hatter donates half of its profits to organizations that support survivors of domestic violence, has also donated proceeds to children in foster care, and has hosted toy and clothing drives. And if a family can't afford to buy a cake or cookies for a celebration, Sarah will work with them to make sure they have a sweet treat to celebrate with. She also donates cookies to the annual New Hampshire book festival, which helps promote reading among children and adults. Sarah's dedication to supporting domestic violence survivors and giving back to her community is a true example of the Granite State spirit. Her generosity and understanding is why I am proud to name her August's Granite Stater of the Month.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Madam President, I am honored to recognize Mary Duquette of Hopkinton and Myra Nikitas of Nashua as July's Granite Staters of the Month. Mary and Myra are working to ensure that all children in Nashua who need dental care are able to get it. Mary and Myra have both worked in the dental field for more than 20 years and are certified public health dental hygienists. In 2021, when Mary was working for the State of New Hampshire's oral health program, a program that performed dental screenings for third graders in New Hampshire identified Nashua as one of the areas with the highest levels of tooth decay in the State. Mary and Myra joined an existing cavity prevention program, but when funding for that program ran out, they wanted to continue providing services. They took action, applied for grants themselves, and launched their nonprofit Traveling Tooth Fairies. Traveling Tooth Fairies' goal is to close the dental care gap. During the school year, Mary and Myra visit schools throughout the Nashua area, helping provide cavity prevention care to any child with a signed permission slip, regardless of their insurance status. Treatment is free for patients, paid for through either grant funding or through New Hampshire Medicaid if the child is eligible and enrolled. In addition to removing financial barriers, providing care directly at schools removes another critical barrier: the need for parents to take time off from work to take their child to the dentist. Traveling Tooth Fairies doesn't deny anyone care, and if a family contacts them asking for help outside of school, Mary and Myra will work with them to get their child treatment. Traveling Tooth Fairies also attend community events and treat families in shelters. Mary and Myra's dedication to keeping children healthy is an inspiring example of the Granite State spirit of going above and beyond to help your neighbors. Their commitment to their community is why I am proud to name them July's Granite Staters of the Month.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. I request the yeas and nays.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following motion to commit for the bill H.R. 1 be placed in the Congressional Record: A motion to commit the bill H.R. 1 to the Committee on Finance of the Senate with instructions to report the same back to the Senate in 3 days, not counting any day on which the Senate is not in session, with changes that-- (1) are within the jurisdiction of such committee; and (2) would protect families and small businesses from cost increases by ending the trade war with Canada.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, across the country, Americans of every political stripe are urging us to come together to help bring down painfully high costs. Instead, the President is making life even less affordable, both with this partisan budget bill and with his decision to launch a trade war with our ally Canada. The President's tariffs, combined with this bill, will raise costs for firefighters, truckdrivers, and teachers by $500, all so that the wealthiest 0.1 percent, making over $4 million, get a $350,000 windfall. At a time when the American people need their costs to come down, I can think of few ideas as willfully self-destructive as launching a trade war with one of our closest allies and, in effect, imposing a national sales tax on families and small businesses. I urge my colleagues to listen to the great majority of Americans who need their costs to come down and to support my motion.

Ms. HASSAN. I ask that further reading of the motion be dispensed with.

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Motions to Commit for the bill H.R. 1 be placed in the Congressional Record: A motion to commit the bill H.R. 1 to the Committee on Finance of the Senate with instructions to report the same back to the Senate in 3 days, not counting any day on which the Senate is not in session, with changes that-- (1) are within the jurisdiction of such committee; and (2) would cut taxes and lower costs for middle class families and small businesses, and eliminate tax breaks for billionaires and corporate special interests. A motion to commit the bill H.R. 1 to the Committee on Finance of the Senate with instructions to report the same back to the Senate in 3 days, not counting any day on which the Senate is not in session, with changes that-- (1) are within the jurisdiction of such committee; and (2) would ensure that, consistent with current law, Federal Medicaid funds are not used to provide health coverage for undocumented immigrants. A motion to commit the bill H.R. 1 to the Committee on Finance of the Senate with instructions to report the same back to the Senate in 3 days, not counting any day on which the Senate is not in session, with changes that-- (1) are within the jurisdiction of such committee; and (2) strike section 70411 (relating to tax credits for contributions of individuals to scholarship granting organizations) (including the amendments made by such section) if it could result in expanded voucher programs that support schools that do not comply with requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) for students or their parents or guardians.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Madam President, first, I want to thank my colleagues and, especially just now, my colleague from Georgia, for their work tonight, for their expression of what is at stake in this moment. And to Senator Warnock, I say thank you and amen. I am here today because I am joining the majority of Americans who are deeply alarmed by this plan from the President and his congressional allies, a plan that will make life less affordable for more Americans. When we return home for this Fourth of July, it would be nice to be able to tell our constituents that we came together and passed bipartisan legislation to help bring down costs for families. Instead, my colleagues who vote for this legislation will have to explain why, at a time when families' pocketbooks are strained, they chose to support a partisan bill to make American life even less affordable. What will America look like once this bill takes effect? Millions of people will have lost their health coverage thanks to the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. More people won't be able to afford preventive care and cancer screenings, and more people will get sick. Healthcare premiums will surge for everyone because fewer people will have care, and the number of uninsured Americans will increase. Rural hospitals will close their doors because they lost Medicaid reimbursements that help keep them afloat. More people, especially in States like mine, will have to make long car rides just to get to a hospital 50 miles away in those desperate moments when minutes feel like hours and hours like eternities. Seniors will be thrown into grave peril because this bill threatens hundreds of billions in Medicare cuts. And once this plan eviscerates food assistance programs, it will be much harder for families to afford to put food on the table at a time when groceries are already far too expensive. Let there be no mistake, more families and children who today are being fed will go hungry, and all the while our children will be burdened with trillions more in debt. In the name of what cause is all this done? Well, it is all to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. This bill will also make us an America where our people are less free. In New Hampshire, during my time as Governor, we adopted Medicaid expansion with support from both political parties, and we balanced the budget at the same time. We understood that, with health, comes freedom: the freedom to work and provide for one's family; the freedom from disease and despair; the freedom that comes from--why do I even have to say this?--being alive. Granite Staters also understood that a great country like ours treats its people with great dignity. In America, we don't sacrifice the health of our neighbors, and we don't let families fall sick. We do not imperil our economy, our debt, and our workforce just to pay for a tax giveaway for a billionaire. So what kind of country will we be with this bill? We will not only be less healthy, but we will be less prosperous and less free. In short, this bill is at odds with what we aspire to be as Americans. It is also worth noting how remarkably out of step this bill is with the American people's plea to bring down costs. In a democracy like ours, theoretically, the people's representatives pass legislation that reflects the aspirations of the majority. I say ``theoretically'' because, clearly, that is not what is happening today. Indeed, according to the data from the Joint Economic Committee minority, if one combines this bill with the President's tariffs, then firefighters, truckdrivers, and teachers, for instance, will lose $470 or more next year while the top 0.1 percent--who are the people who earn about $4 million or more--will be $348,000 richer. This bill would take away healthcare from tens of thousands of Granite Staters and would take a similar toll across the country. Indeed, in both Florida and Texas, the number of people who will lose their health insurance is greater than the entire population of New Hampshire--millions of people losing care with a stroke of a pen. What have these people done to deserve that? All the American people are asking for is for us to help bring down costs. So the President and the Republicans in Congress take away their healthcare? Sometimes in Washington, we are faced with bills that fail to fully meet the moment, to be sure, but it is rare to find legislation like this: a bill that makes life less affordable during a time when Americans of every political stripe are crying out for lower costs; a bill that seems as if it was drafted just to make a mockery of the wills and wishes of the majority of the people in this country. Lately, many of my colleagues and some political pundits have been talking about this bill as if it were inevitable--a runaway freight train so vast that it cannot be stopped. In light of this inevitability, they suggest that some of the bill's deficiencies can just be overlooked. But, of course, this bill was not inevitable, nor is it now. So let's be clear: Each and every Senator in this body has free will--God-given free will--which means that the measures in this legislation that gut Medicaid weren't written by mistake or by chance. We didn't arrive at this day with a vote on this terrible budget bill by accident. Let's not delude ourselves. We are only here because a majority in this body decided to ignore the majority of the country and make a series of decisions. The Republican majority decided to gut Medicaid. They decided to take away healthcare from millions. They decided to raise insurance premiums for the rest of us. They decided that closed hospitals were a risk worth taking. They decided that taking food away from hungry kids was acceptable. They decided that trillions more in debt was not a problem. The Republican majority decided that depriving the American people of all of these things and raising their costs were worth it just as long as they paid for another tax break for billionaires. That is the bargain that this administration, along with my Republican colleagues, is forcing the American people to accept. Our people will be less healthy, and our kids will have more debt, but the President and billionaires like him will get a tax break. Of course, part of what makes this bill so frustrating is it includes some individual provisions that I have spent years trying to pass into law. This bill includes provisions I support, some even that I authored, like strengthening the R&D tax deduction to support our entrepreneurs and a tax cut for families to make childcare more affordable. I also support this bill's provisions which would tackle our housing crisis by expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which would bring down the cost of housing, as well as a provision making mortgage insurance tax deductible so that it is easier to buy a home. I support a bill with real tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses, unlike the token measures included in this bill. If my Republican colleagues worked across the aisle to draft a bill that brought this bipartisan approach to other critical areas like healthcare and food assistance, I would vote for it. Instead, my colleagues chose to take these commonsense solutions hostage by linking every good idea to three bad ones, turning this into a purely partisan endeavor. So, yes, I am glad that some of these bipartisan provisions will be signed into law, but I regret that they aren't a part of a truly bipartisan effort because of the politics of division and destruction that President Trump brings to Washington. I know that there are many areas of common ground with my Republican colleagues in this body, but it has become far too difficult to move forward on finding solutions when, at every turn, the President seems far more interested in demonizing and dividing rather than in bringing people together; in turning areas of agreement into weapons to force disagreement. Now, that is exactly the kind of cynical politics of division that does lasting damage to our families, to our economy, and to our democracy. President Trump, likely, will get this bill passed. He may get enough of the Republican caucus to stand in line once again to pass it, even though my Republican colleagues know that budget analysts have added up the financial cost of this bill and have told them that it adds trillions upon trillions to our national debt, burdening our children's futures. But, you know, as important as the debt is, it is not the only cost of passing this awful bill. There is another kind of cost, a cost not simply of dollars and cents. I shouldn't have to remind this administration and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle about the nature of this cost. They know it. Just to be clear, this tax break for corporate special interests and billionaires has a price--a price that can't be summed up in a budget line or written off during tax season--because when we debate healthcare in America, some dress up these discussions with words like ``reconciliation'' and ``program'' and ``discretionary spending,'' but what they are talking about is being sick and being healthy. What they are talking about, whether they want to admit it or not, is living and dying. So how much does this bill cost? The cost is that of millions of Americans losing their healthcare. The cost is of countless numbers of families feeling the pain of higher insurance premiums. The cost is a mother being forced to choose between paying out of pocket for her own care or paying for groceries for her kids. It is a price that is exacted in cancers that go undetected. It is exacted in chronic illnesses that go untreated. It is exacted in the healthcare challenges in our country that continue to go unaddressed because we spend all our energies simply trying to keep our heads above water in the floods of the President's own making. The pricetag is more than dollars and cents. It includes the cost of losing more people from our workforce because they are too ill to work. It includes the gnawing pains of hunger and the slow toll of malnutrition that will come as food assistance programs are robbed. It includes the anguish of young parents who no longer know how they will make ends meet. It includes the lost hopes and deferred dreams of people held back by illness. It includes the cost of having to say more early good-byes. What is the pricetag of this bill? The price, in the end, is the health and freedom of millions of Americans. It is a price that will be paid because somewhere on the road that brought us here, here in President Trump's Washington, some people decided that the health of some child or her mother may be dear but that it doesn't carry the same weight that a bigger tax return for a billionaire does. I yield the floor.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Lynette Kaichen of Effingham as June's Granite Stater of the Month. Lynette founded an organization that provides clothing to children being placed in emergency foster care. Ten years ago, Lynette and her husband became foster parents for children in emergency cases. In an emergency removal, kids going into foster care have little time to pack a bag with personal items or clothes, which means that most kids show up to their foster home with nothing of their own. Lynette was frustrated by the lack of support for these children, who are already going through a traumatic experience and have often lost everything, and by the fact that they have to move into a new and unfamiliar situation without any possessions. She knew that emergency foster parents would likely have some toiletries and toys or books ready, but the main problem that she ran into was not being able to plan ahead and have the correct size of clothing on hand. Lynette realized that if an organization could have every size of clothing ready ahead of time, every child in a foster home could have the clothes that they need. Lynette decided to take action. She started The Pass Along Project from her kitchen table, putting together kits full of over a week's worth of clothing and shoes in every possible size from newborn to adult, ready to be delivered on short notice to a foster parent giving a child a home. Over the past 8 years, the organization has grown to include a warehouse in Pembroke, and The Pass Along Project now serves more than 500 children across New Hampshire each year. Lynette's goal is to be able to provide kits for all children in our State in foster care and also those who have entered the care of their relatives under similar circumstances. Lynette's dedication to supporting to children that are going through a difficult time is an outstanding example of the Granite State spirit of stepping up to help those in need. Her compassion and attentiveness to children entering foster care is why I am proud to name her June's Granite Stater of the Month.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues to stand up for the freedom of American women as we mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, and I want to thank Senator Blunt Rochester and my colleagues for leading this effort on the floor this afternoon. In New Hampshire, we proudly call ourselves the Live Free or Die State, and today, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what the Dobbs decision--a decision that represents the largest attack on freedom in modern American political history--means not only for the future of American women but, even more fundamentally, for freedom in our democracy itself. It is difficult to keep up with the Trump administration's attacks on freedom, with attacks on our rights to due process, freedom of speech and expression, freedom to vote, and more. Perhaps the President hopes that with each cascading outrage, the American people will forget that he set in motion the events that led to the Supreme Court taking away freedom from half of our population--the fundamental freedom of a woman to make her own health decisions. But, of course, we haven't forgotten. We Americans have never been inclined to forget attacks on our liberties. What did the Dobbs decision mean? It took away a woman's freedom to make deeply personal health decisions, the freedom to decide when and if to start a family, the freedom to get lifesaving care when a woman's health is imperiled while pregnant. This is more than a freedom to get a specific medical procedure. In practice, we are talking about the freedom to chart one's own future--a freedom which should be enjoyed by all free and equal citizens in a democracy. But with the Dobbs decision, for the first time in our country's history, our daughters are now less free than their mothers were at their age. Since the Dobbs decision, we have become a country where a fundamental freedom can vanish once a woman crosses a State line. We have returned to a kind of sectionalism of bygone eras that history should have taught us to avoid where women who are pregnant and live in States with draconian laws banning abortion know that in the event of a dire medical emergency, they may have to make a long drive to cross State lines or run the risk of being thrown in jail for just trying to get lifesaving care. This isn't hypothetical. Already, lives have been imperiled and even lost in experiences that we have heard from Georgia, Florida, Texas, and in States all across the country. Indeed, at this very moment, Members of this body are seeking to pass legislation--the Republican budget bill--which would, among other measures, make it impossible for many women to get the care they need and shut down women's healthcare clinics all across the country. Their legislation is effectively the final step in establishing a backdoor national abortion ban. So, to my Republican colleagues: Please stop singing the same song to us that the women of America are being alarmist--a song that we heard before Roe was overturned and that we have continued to hear since. I want to know just when exactly in the process of having one's freedom stripped away are we allowed to become alarmed. Are we only allowed to be concerned about losing a fundamental freedom once that freedom has become nothing more than a memory? Ultimately, behind all of this talk of laws and precedent, of State statutes and Federal, behind all the medical discussion about women's healthcare, the anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe begs us to ask a question as simple and as fundamental as they come, a question that the opponents of reproductive freedom and the President himself ought to answer: When our Declaration of Independence declared that all are created equal, does that promise belong to American women or do we believe that truth is not self-evident after all? When the suffragettes at Seneca Falls wrote that they ``insist women have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States,'' do we still believe those words or were the suffragettes wrong? Do we believe that we are better off when everyone gets to chart their own future? In the land of the free, do the full blessings of liberty belong to our daughters as well as our sons? Can a democracy like ours persist when, divided by State lines, half its people live half-free? In the end, that is what this debate is really all about. So what is it, on this anniversary, that America's women ask for? It is simple. They want what all Americans want. Their aspiration is to be free. And so long as we wish to call ourselves the world's greatest democracy, the President and this body would do well to remember our country's promise and heed their call. I yield the floor.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Catherine Reed of Hanover as May's Granite Stater of the Month. Catherine started a food pantry, called the Food-is-Medicine Pantry, at the Dartmouth Cancer Center when she saw how many of her cancer patients needed food assistance. Three years ago, Catherine was working at the Dartmouth Cancer Center as a social worker when she discovered that there was a significant gap in resources for her patients. She was helping a patient get assistance with paying for rent, car payments, and fuel oil, but learned that the patient was also struggling to afford their groceries. Catherine realized that there were very few options for food assistance for her patients, and the stigma surrounding food insecurity stopped many of her patients from asking for help. Catherine decided to take action, and with the help of a coworker Chelsey Canavan, Catherine secured funding for a food pantry at the Dartmouth Cancer Center, with fresh and healthy donations provided by a local nonprofit organization. Catherine knew that in order for the food pantry to improve the lives of her patients, she needed to make sure that anyone who needed help was comfortable asking for it. She explained to her patients that proper nutrition is a part of the treatment for their cancer because the stronger that someone goes into treatment, the stronger they can come out of it. Catherine took grocery orders from her patients daily and delivered the groceries to people's cars before they left in order to make things as easy as possible for them. Catherine saw firsthand the difference that food assistance makes for cancer patients. She began working to expand the food pantry program, including collecting data, presenting a poster at an oncology conference, contacting a hospital in Tennessee to learn about their food pantry so that she could model best practices, and creating a referral system to bring more patients into the program. The program's eligibility has grown to include all patients at the center, and for each patient who chooses to participate, their entire family is provided with fresh and healthy food harvested and delivered by local organizations. Catherine's attentiveness to her patients is a great example of the Granite State spirit of going above and beyond for your community. She saw a problem and did not look around for someone else to solve it. She got to work. Her determination and her compassion is why I am proud to name her May's Granite Stater of the Month.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Meenakshi Dwaraka and Salome Castillo Valencia of Nashua as April's Granite Staters of the Month for their work to establish a free coding class for local elementary school students. Both Meenakshi, 16, and Salome, 17, were interested in coding from a young age. Meenakshi's dad, a computer scientist, first inspired her to develop digital skills, and she quickly realized that she enjoyed competing in coding competitions. Salome learned how to build websites and code during the Covid-19 pandemic and has continued to improve her skills and even sell websites that she has created. The girls, who met in sixth grade, noticed that there were not many opportunities to learn computer skills until students entered high school, despite the increasing importance of the field. They decided to help fill this gap by starting a free coding class for students in third grade through fifth grade so that kids from all backgrounds could learn the basics of coding from a young age. The class, which Meenakshi and Salome teach at their local community center in Nashua, has grown over the weeks. When they first started offering the class, they didn't have very many students, but over time, they have seen an increase in attendance and interest. Students from different high schools in the area have also reached out to ask for help in starting their own classes and expanding the program. Students in the class learn block coding, basic robotics, and computer safety, giving students the opportunity to learn skills that will eventually help them compete in the 21st century economy. Meenakshi and Salome's dedication to increasing access to computer skills is an excellent example of the Granite State spirit of sharing knowledge in order to empower others. Their commitment to helping students from all backgrounds prepare for the future--and have fun--is why I am glad to name them April's Granite Staters of the Month.