In the News

SPRINGFIELD — This city has long sought to recover the jobs it lost during its 20th century industrial decline, and in recent years it began to make some headway — attracting big new employers, including the plant making Red and Orange line cars for the MBTA. But city leaders have been watching nervously in recent weeks as Congress considered restrictions on the plant’s… Read more »

A defense spending bill passed by the U.S. House includes language granting a reprieve to a Chinese-owned rail car factory in Springfield. There was a push by some lawmakers on Capitol Hill to ban the use of taxpayer funds on public transit rail cars that are made by Chinese entities. But a compromise will allow CRRC to continue bidding on projects for current clients, and will give the… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD — Walsh Park in the city’s Liberty Heights section is basically an empty field ringed by trees. But by the summer 2021, the 12-acre park tucked back in a residential neighborhood near Interstate 291 will have two inclusive playgrounds — one for ages 2 to 5 and another for ages 5 to 12 — a baseball/softball field, all-access walking path, splash pad,… Read more »

The House Ways and Means Committee released its own proposal Wednesday for ending surprise medical bills, potentially complicating an effort by some lawmakers to include a rival proposal in a year-end spending bill. Surprise out-of-network medical bills are unpopular among the public, both parties and President Donald Trump. But lawmakers disagree about the details of how to pay doctors… Read more »

Compromise language in a Pentagon spending bill passed Wednesday evening by the U.S. House of Representatives will allow Springfield’s CRRC MA factory to compete for contracts making rail cars for American transit agencies and not fall under a federal ban meant to stifle the Chinese-owned company. Under language inserted in the National Defense Authorization Act through the efforts… Read more »

While House Democrats were publicly battling with President Trump over impeachment this fall, Representative Richard Neal was a key player in the final stages of a drama playing out behind the scenes: the effort to get a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada across the finish line. For more than six months, Neal, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee,… Read more »

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 10, 2019.....Led by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal of Springfield, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday celebrated a deal with the White House's trade representative over changes to the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, clearing the way for the North American trade compact that President Donald Trump has made a key part of his… Read more »

House Democrats and the Trump administration have reached an agreement to move forward with the White House’s replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, top Democrats said Tuesday. The two sides had worked for more than a year to resolve Democratic concerns about enforcement tools for labor and environmental standards under the new deal, known as the United… Read more »

House Democrats including Ways and Means Chair Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., and Speaker Nancy Pelosi touted Tuesday a deal with the White House and organized labor for a revised North American Free Trade Agreement. Neal has been active in negotiations, not just with the Trump administration, but with governments in Canada and Mexico, traveling to both capitals in recent months for… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD — The Hartford Line commuter rail service attracted record ridership during Thanksgiving weekend, the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. CTDOT said it ran extra CTrail Hartford Line trains on Nov. 26, Nov. 27 and Dec. 1. The commuter rail line serves communities between New Haven and Springfield including Hartford. Springfield’s Union… Read more »