Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) fired back at a heckler on Friday night who called her out during a speech at the annual New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner for her vote to end the government shutdown.
“Nobody wants to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits more than me, or more than Senator Hassan,” Shaheen said.
A voice from the crowd then interrupted Shaheen, calling out, “Then why did you vote for it?”
The heckler was state Rep. Heath Howard, who is running for Congress in the first congressional district.
The senior senator from New Hampshire was quick to respond, retorting that she and Sen. Maggie Hassan, who voted alongside Shaheen to end the shutdown, have done much more to support healthcare access in the U.S. than others.
“You look at our record, and you tell me what you’ve done to protect the healthcare of Americans, and it’s not even close to what we’ve done,” Shaheen said, generating a large applause from the crowd.
Sens. Shaheen and Hassan have faced attacks from within the Democratic Party for their decision to broker the deal to end the government shutdown, without a guarantee to extend the ACA tax credits.
“She talked a lot about her record and her experience, and I appreciate that. But it doesn’t matter at the end of the day, what you have done in the past, if you erase all of those victories with one vote,” Howard said.
Howard said that his decision to speak out was a personal one, after he suffered a severe spinal injury when he was 15 years old.
“I had my spinal cord rebundled. I had four rods, eight screws put in, and it really exposed to me how broken our health care system is,” Howard said, adding that he was surprised by her immediate pushback.
“I thought it was childish. To be frank, it’s kind of unbecoming of a senior senator,” Howard said.
When asked what he would say to those who may think his actions to heckle the senator were childish, Howard reiterated that his comments were motivated by her personal experience moving through the health care system.
“This is my life. This is extremely personal to me. And it’s something where health care is a human right,” he said.
Such criticism has been pointed in the wrong direction, Shaheen said, further stating the Democrats should be going after President Donald Trump and his administration instead.
“We need as a party to stay laser focused on health care and to remind voters who’s really to blame for this mess that we’re in, because it’s not Democrats. It is Donald Trump, and it is Speaker Johnson — and the Republican majorities in the House and Senate,” Shaheen said.
>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<
Among the other critics of the decision was Shaheen’s own daughter, Stefany Shaheen, who is also a candidate for the House in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, running against Heath. Earlier this week, Stefany Shaheen told WMUR that she disagreed with her mother’s vote, and if she had been in Congress, she would have voted “no.”
“Every family has differences of opinion and views, and here, we just have very different views about the best way to approach this,” Ms. Shaheen said. “I think my mom and Senator Hassan did what they believe was right. I’m doing what I believe is right — and that is to say, I can’t support this compromise because ultimately, Speaker (Mike) Johnson won’t guarantee a vote on extending the tax credits.”
Read: Stefany Shaheen says she cannot support the shutdown deal brokered by her mother
When asked about her daughter’s public break-in opinion, Sen. Shaheen said she and her daughter had spoken and knew of their differing views on the deal.
“We talk every day. So, she knew where I was, and I knew where she was,” Sen. Shaheen told WMUR.
The senator referenced their public disagreement on the shutdown vote during her speech on Friday, when she acknowledged her daughter in the crowd.
“Our daughter Stefany is here. You know, she’s independent — and that’s what’s going to make her an excellent congresswoman,” Sen. Shaheen said, adding with a laugh, “and — she still has invited us for Thanksgiving dinner.”
>> Subscribe to WMUR’s YouTube channel <<
