Pappas Tours New Hampshire Seacoast, Discusses Climate Resilient Infrastructure

On July 9, Representative Chris Pappas (NH-01) toured coastal infrastructure on New Hampshire's Seacoast, learned about the Rockingham Planning Commission's High Water Mark Initiative to identify flood adaptation and resilience actions, and spoke about investing in climate resilient infrastructure with representatives from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the Rockingham Planning Commission, and the League of Conservation Voters.

"The growing risk of flooding threatens many of our communities," said Congressman Pappas. "It's critical that we create climate resilient communities through our infrastructure planning and projects. I'm pleased the Moving Forward Act includes provisions for climate resiliency that will protect our environment and invest in infrastructure projects that address these threats."

"Congressman Pappas has fully supported the federal effort to address the challenge of sea level rise and preserve the resiliency of our fragile Seacoast," said Senator Tom Sherman. "Having gained a broad understanding of this challenge in my work to secure the dredging of Rye Harbor, understand the geology of the Seacoast's natural defenses against encroachment by tidal and storm surges, and as a member of the NH Coastal Marine Natural Resources & Environment Commission (COMNARE) – I am reassured that we have a strong federal partner in Congressman Pappas."

Last week the House passed a comprehensive, five year transportation and infrastructure package that Pappas helped to develop as a member of the T&I Committee that would build more resilient infrastructure that will withstand the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.

H.R. 2, The Moving Forward Act, delivers on Pappas's pledge to fight for the federal support needed to address New Hampshire's urgent infrastructure needs. This five year bill will deliver more than $1.3 billion for New Hampshire's transportation infrastructure, a more than 30% increase in federal funding.

In addition to funding more resilient infrastructure the package expands our active transportation networks through the inclusion of legislation Pappas introduced to create a federal grant program that will build bike and pedestrian trails, and cleans up our water through the inclusion of $1 billion in funding to implement Pappas's Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act. It also makes investments in Amtrak, passenger, and freight rail to create a robust, reliable rail system and to address long-neglected maintenance needs in the Northeast Corridor, re-evaluates federal funding structures to ensure small states such as New Hampshire receive the support they need, and expands affordable high-speed Internet to underserved communities with a $100 billion investment that promotes competition and works to close the digital divide.