Washington D.C. Trip Recap

Concord, NH - On Monday, February 25, Governor Chris Sununu returned to New Hampshire after a five day trip to Washington, DC, where he participated in the National Governors Association Winter Meeting.

Below is a read-out of Governor Chris Sununu's trip:

Thursday, February 21

Governor Sununu arrived in Washington, DC.

Friday February 22

Governor Sununu attended the Axios's News Shapers forum on Early Childhood Education with Executive Editor Mike Allen. A video of the discussion can be found here.

Governor Sununu later met with a delegation of executives from Keidanren, the Japanese Business Federation, to discuss potential investments in the United States. They discussed the thousands of employees that their member companies employ in New Hampshire, and also talked about additional investments in clean energy technology.

Later, Governor Sununu met with Mark Shriver, Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs and Advocacy at Save the Children, and Jennifer Garner, actress and Trustee of Save the Children. They discussed how to improve prevention and intervention-style programs for at-risk youth populations across New Hampshire and the Country.

Governor Sununu then had an National Governors Association lunch with fellow governors and Vice President Mike Pence at the Naval Observatory. Governor Sununu had a one-on-one conversation with the Vice President, where Governor Sununu stressed the importance of passing the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal while simultaneously removing the harmful tariffs.

Following lunch, Governor Sununu sat down with White House Politico Reporter Nancy Cook for a conversation on New Hampshire's innovative solutions at Politico's State Solutions Conference.

Governor Sununu then met with United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie. Governor Sununu updated the Secretary on the situation at Pease regarding PFOA's and PFOS's and the steps New Hampshire is taking as a state to aggressively look at the public health impacts of contaminated water at Pease. They also discussed Governor Sununu's executive order last term, which allowed physicians and physician assistants at Manchester's Veterans Affairs Medical Center to continue to provide medical care to VA patients outside of the Manchester VA facility.

Saturday February 23

Governor Sununu met with Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Seema Verma, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Governor Sununu gave an update on the Hub-and-Spoke implementation and the Medicaid Management information system. They discussed the implementation of New Hampshire's work requirement, and were glad to see the State of New Hampshire was on path to get the program moving forward.

Governor Sununu later attended a Governors-only lunch.

Saturday evening, Governor Sununu attended the Governors Sportsmen Caucus reception, where he delivered remarks and spoke to the importance of their caucus and how states can grow sportsmen's programs across the country.

Sunday, February 24

Sunday morning, Governor Sununu met with the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, where they discussed a variety of issues, including electricity power infrastructure. The Governors agreed to put a working group together to better assess the impacts that a potential closing of the Millstone Power Station would have on New England.

Afterwards, Goverenor Sununu spoke on a panel with fellow governors on North American Trade, and met with Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council. Governor Sununu stressed the importance of ratifying the USMCA trade deal while simultaneously removing the tariffs.

Governor Sununu then met with New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, to discuss economic development and travel and tourism opportunities between New Hampshire and Canada.

Governor Sununu attended a dinner at the White House with Republican and Democratic governors, where he had the opportunity to meet with some of America's newly elected governors, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. To watch the President's remarks at dinner, click here.

Monday, February 25

On Monday morning, Governor Sununu attended briefing sessions at the White House with fellow Governors. The President remarks to the Governors can be found here.

Later, Governor Sununu attended three breakout sessions with Governors and senior members of the Administration. The first session centered on economic opportunities and how to bring more people into the workforce. Ivanka Trump and Larry Kudlow attended.

The second session focused on school safety. The conversation centered around increasing access to mental health services, and Governor Sununu shared efforts and progress New Hampshire has made in improving school safety. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Attorney General William Barr, and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen attended this session.

The third session Governor Sununu attended focused on the opioid crisis. Governor Sununu shared New Hampshire's innovative efforts to combat the crisis, including the Hub-and-Spoke model and recovery friendly workplaces. Office of National Drug Control Policy Director James Carroll, Secretary Alex Azar, Attorney General William Barr attended the session with fellow governors.

Governor Sununu returned to New Hampshire on Monday afternoon.