In the News

SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. House and Senate are likely to pass another stimulus payment program and the federal government might extend a $600-a-week enhancement for unemployment insurance recipients, payments meant to soften the blow the coronavirus dealt to the economy, said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield.

Neal spoke Thursday to reporters gathered outside his office in the federal courthouse on State Street.

The Labor Department said Thursday record job gains in June showed the economy has recovered roughly one-third of the 22 million jobs it lost in the pandemic recession.

But Neal said infection rates are still climbing elsewhere around the country and 17.8 million Americans remain out of work four months after sweeping business shutdowns meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“The worst attitude we can adopt right now is one of complacency,” Neal said. “No one is saying that this is over.”

The $600 addition to unemployment checks is set to expire at the end of July. Employers, and some lawmakers, have blamed it for giving workers an incentive to stay home and not look for jobs.

“I suspect that is going to be a point of battle,” Neal said.

But he said that in order to qualify for unemployment, a worker must have lost a job, not quit.

“These are people who have been laid off,” he said.

He’s unable to provide details at this point, but Neal said there possibly will be a system where workers can return to work and retain a portion of the $600.

Both houses and President Donald Trump have spoken about another stimulus payment. Most Americans could receive $1,200 while many married couples who file their tax returns jointly get $2,400, and those with children are allocated $500 for dependents under the age of 17.

Neal, chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee, said this was a busy week in Washington, with significant progress made on the Moving Forward Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, and the Emergency Housing Protections & Relief Act, as well as the introduction of the GREEN Act.

The Moving Forward Act is a a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan that could provide $19 billion in federal grants for transportation projects, including east-west rail in Massachusetts enhancing passenger service from Boston through Worcester and Springfield and onto Pittsfield.

Neal detailed tax credit provisions in the bill to aid in the purchase of electric vehicles, including tax benefits for the first time to those who buy a used electric vehicle.

The bill could provide $1.4 billion in alternative fuel charging infrastructure and $25 billion to modernize the U.S. Postal Service, which could include an all-electric, zero-emissions fleet of delivery vehicles.

Neal said he signed on Wednesday as a supporter of U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark’s Child Care is Infrastructure Act, which would pump billions into the child care and early education systems and help parents get back to work.

He said all this legislation passed by the House with its Democratic majority is not necessarily dead on arrival in the GOP-led Senate. Every conversation with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky starts at “no,” Neal said, but the Senate has passed significant coronavirus relief legislation with commanding majorities.

Neal reacted to ongoing revelations that Russian operatives placed bounties on the heads of U.S. service members in Afghanistan, and that the Trump administration was informed but did nothing. Neal said the evidence is compelling and that further sanctions against Russia are warranted.

“The administration has not been forthcoming,” he said.

Asked how to hold Trump accountable, Neal said there is an election in November.