Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
October 29, 2021
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(Manchester, NH) – This morning, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) visited the UPS Customer Service Center in Manchester to discuss ongoing supply chain disruptions and workforce challenges that are impacting New Hampshire businesses and consumers. These challenges have led to shortages of products and higher prices for some household goods – which could worsen as the peak holiday season approaches and demand for goods surges. During the event, Shaheen met with UPS officials, labor union leaders and the heads of the NH Retail and Grocers Associations and discussed how to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks.
“Americans rely on the U.S. supply chain for everything – from the food they put on the table to lifesaving prescription medications to electronics like televisions and computers. Unfortunately, difficulties like workforce issues and surging transportation costs stemming from the pandemic have seriously strained the supply chain, causing shortages and higher prices,” said Shaheen. “Today’s conversation with stakeholders focused on how we can address these disruptions, boost the resilience of the supply chain and help Granite Staters facing the brunt of these consequences. I’ll continue taking input like what I heard today to the Senate so we can build a national supply chain that’s more robust and dynamic moving forward.”
Bolstering the domestic supply chain has been a top priority for Senator Shaheen. In April 2020, Shaheen sent a letter to the Trump administration to take action to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply and protect essential workers in the food supply chain. Shaheen has also worked to secure urgently needed personal protective equipment for New Hampshire. In March, Shaheen reintroduced her bipartisan legislation to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to bolster the domestic supply chain for critical items like personal protective equipment and increase the government’s capacity to supply these critical materials, particularly during a national emergency. The Senator also joined a letter to President Joe Biden supporting his administration’s plan to quickly utilize all available authorities under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to rapidly increase the production and stockpiling of medical, testing and protective equipment supplies. In August, as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Commerce, Shaheen hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo highlighting the need to bolster the country’s home building supply chain.