In the News

President Joe Biden’s inauguration served, for U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, as a reminder of “how durable American institutions are.”

Neal, D-Springfield, looked on Wednesday as Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in outside the U.S. Capitol, two weeks after a violent mob invaded that building in an attempt to delay certification of November’s presidential election results.

“I think that from the poet to the speeches that were offered and the inaugural address by President Biden, [they] all had a similar vein, and it was healing, reassurance and reminding everybody that it’s not about the personalities — it’s about our institutions,” Neal told The Eagle in a phone interview.

Neal, who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, will play a key role in shaping legislation as Biden enters office with Democratic control — even if narrowly — in the House and Senate. Neal said he expects to see formal legislation proposed in “the next couple weeks.”

He expressed hope that Biden’s plan for a federal pandemic response — rather than one left up to states — can lead to improvement amid a public health crisis that has infected more than 24 million people and killed more than 400,000 in the nation. Biden has said he wants to administer coronavirus vaccines to 100 million people during his first 100 days in office, or an average of 1 million people per day.

“I think that it’s going to be a very ambitious 100 days,” Neal said.

While he said it’s “hard to get to anything else until we defeat the pandemic,” he expressed hope for economic relief and a future infrastructure package.

The House has voted to impeach former President Donald Trump — for the second time — for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol, and Neal said he hopes that process can move forward without competing with priorities like pandemic response.

“I don’t think any of us want to see impeachment get in the way of the Biden agenda,” he said, “but I think we also need to address that issue.”