Shaheen Celebrates Opening of DEA Lab, Highlights Millions She Secured for the Project in Londonderry; Continues Affordability Action Tour at Affordable Apartment Groundbreaking in Manchester; Delivers Remarks at the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program 25th?Anniversary?Event

(Londonderry, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) , a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA) Appropriations Subcommittee, on Wednesday joined officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and state and local law enforcement agencies at a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the opening of a state-of-the-art DEA lab in Londonderry. Shaheen then brought her “Affordability Action Tour” to downtown Manchester where she was honored for her commitment to lowering housing costs in New Hampshire and visited the site of an affordable housing development. Shaheen finished the day in Canterbury at the 25 th Anniversary Celebration of the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). Photos from the events can be found HERE . In Londonderry, Senator Shaheen received a tour of a new, state-of-the-art DEA forensic lab and delivered remarks celebrating the lab’s opening at a ribbon cutting ceremony. The forensics lab will help law enforcement identify street drugs, fight drug-related crimes and improve public safety across New Hampshire. Senator Shaheen secured $50 million in federal funding to support construction of the lab which will support law enforcement efforts across the entire region of New England. The lab first broke ground in 2024 and today’s ribbon-cutting was the culmination of the two-year construction efforts. The opening of the lab, which has approximately 46,000 square feet of laboratory and separate administrative space and will house roughly 80 positions, is a major milestone in Shaheen’s decades-long efforts to fight substance misuse and combat crime in New Hampshire. The lab’s cutting-edge technologies will allow for quicker examinations, reducing response times and expediting law enforcement’s response to drug-related crimes across New England. “After breaking ground on this site two years ago, I am proud to see our new cutting-edge DEA lab open its doors to help law enforcement across New England improve public safety and keep drugs off our streets,” said Senator Shaheen . “This project is the culmination of years of planning that I was proud to support by securing $50 million in federal funding. New England has long needed a drug laboratory to speed up investigations and combat substance misuse in our region, and I look forward to seeing the difference this lab will make in the years ahead.” Senator Shaheen has remained committed to continuing her decades-long fight against substance use in New Hampshire. In June, Shaheen and U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) renewed their push to authorize billions in federal funding for substance use treatment and prevention with the reintroduction of their? Turn the Tide Act . Months earlier, Shaheen led the bipartisan End Veterans Overdose Act ? to expand access to naloxone and other overdose reversal agents to our veterans, which went on to unanimously clear the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee—a significant step toward passing the bill into law. In the Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill? that was signed into law, Shaheen secured provisions that will ensure veterans can better access health care, including substance use disorder treatment. In 2025, Senator Shaheen introduced the Keeping Drugs Out of School Act? alongside Senator Grassley to establish a new grant program to educate students about the dangers of synthetic opioids. Then in Manchester, Senator Shaheen continued her “Affordability Action Tour” at NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire’s “Out of the Ground” ceremony, where she served as the keynote speaker and celebrated plans to redevelop the Pearl Street parking lot into affordable apartments and townhomes. In Fiscal Year (FY) 26 government funding legislation, Shaheen secured $2.2 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for the project, which upon completion, will deliver 126 apartments and 12 townhomes to downtown Manchester. At the ceremony, Shaheen was honored by NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire for her longstanding leadership on affordable housing and her continued support for the Pearl Street project as well as other NeighborWorks developments across the region. “We’ve seen far too many in our state locked out of the housing market due to stubbornly high costs and a lack of supply. Whether you are starting a family in New Hampshire or have lived here for decades, everyone should be able to find an affordable place to live,” said Senator Shaheen . “As I look ahead to my final months in the Senate, lowering housing costs and speeding up the construction of new homes remains one of my top priorities. I was proud to secure millions in federal funding to deliver new affordable housing in Manchester, and I thank everyone who is contributing to the Pearl Street redevelopment, which will provide affordable housing to families in our community.” In the Senate, Shaheen is leading efforts to lower housing costs and increase the supply of affordable units, including her work to help pass the landmark? 21 st ?Century Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act ? earlier this year. The legislation includes three New Hampshire-focused provisions Shaheen secured—the? Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act, ? Streamlining Rural Housing Act ?and the? Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative in Community Enhancement (PRICE) Act —to expand the supply of affordable housing, streamline construction and lower costs in the Granite State and across the country. In the bipartisan? Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations ?bill, Shaheen secured upwards of $9 million in federal funding for affordable housing in New Hampshire. Recently, Senator Shaheen has traveled across the state to discuss policy solutions to lower housing costs for New Hampshire communities, including with visits to Keene ,? Salem ,? Franconia ,? West Lebanon ?and? Laconia ?to discuss policy solutions to lower housing costs for communities across the state. Shaheen ended the day in Canterbury to celebrate the 25 th anniversary of the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), where she was awarded LCHIP’s Legacy Award for her continued support of the program. Shaheen then delivered brief remarks recognizing the importance of LCHIP and its continued success in conserving landscapes and preserving historical sites across the state. “Helping establish LCHIP is one of my proudest achievements as Governor, and 25 years later I’ve been so proud of all that the program has been able to accomplish to preserve the treasured sites across New Hampshire that give our state its distinct character,” said Senator Shaheen. “LCHIP was founded with the belief that conservation and preservation support economic vitality and enrich community life. I thank everyone who has helped LCHIP live up to this founding vision and am excited to witness all that comes next.” Senator Shaheen helped spearhead efforts to create LCHIP during her time as governor of New Hampshire. Since then, the program has invested nearly $69 million through grants in 210 communities, preserved nearly 250,000 acres of land and restored nearly 200 historic buildings. ###