In the News

A bill to prop up financially ailing multiemployer pension plans advanced in Congress on Wednesday as an influential House panel approved a proposal that would protect benefits promised to more than a million workers nationally, including tens of thousands in Massachusetts. The measure, introduced in January by Representative Richard Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts, was passed by the… Read more »

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal, D-Massachusetts, warned Tuesday of the damage that would be done by overturning Obamacare, just hours before oral arguments were to set to begin in a court case that could undo the Affordable Care Act. A panel of federal judges in New Orleans is taking up the future of Obamacare, hearing from states that argue it is… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD — A sense of urgency was evident among local politicians at a briefing on the 2020 census at Springfield City Hall on Monday. Conducted every ten years, the census has become a point of contention as the Trump administration attempts to add a question about individuals’ citizenship status. Census Bureau experts and critics of the question say it would discourage… Read more »

LENOX — On a sultry summer afternoon on the grounds of Shakespeare & Company, North Adams Mayor Thomas Bernard recited: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ..." "... that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," concluded Ken Werner, chairman of the… Read more »

 A ceremony Monday marked the start of construction work to restore a landmark building in Springfield, Massachusetts.    Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and other participants in the ceremony spoke on the sidewalk under the marquee of the Paramount Theater as cars and trucks passed in front on North Main Street and trains moved in and out of nearby Union… Read more »

SPRINGFIELD — The New England Farm Workers Council ceremonially broke ground Monday on the long-planned but oft-delayed $38-million rehab of the Paramount Theater and Massasoit House Hotel. “It’s a great day,” said Heriberto Flores president of the New England Farm Workers Council and developer of the historic building. “A lot of things had to come together… Read more »

The Internal Revenue Service could be getting its first redesign in more than two decades under the bipartisian Taxpayer First Act, which was approved by Congress last week. The bill, H.R. 3151, was introduced earlier this month by U.s. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia. It seeks to revise requirements for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its organizational structure, customer… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Massachusetts, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, on Thursday sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to roll back Obama era regulations designed to curb the effects of climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday eliminated targets set by the Obama administration that would have required states to… Read more »

A U.S. House committee approved a package of bills that provide tax breaks for a variety of select industries and constituencies, kicking off what’s likely to be a protracted negotiation with Senate Republicans over whether and how to pay for them. The bills include dozens of breaks for specific industries, including biodiesel producers, wind-energy farmers, and beer and wine… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal has been appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Democrats’ Trade Working Group. The task force will be charged with negotiating with the Trump administration to collaborate on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Neal is chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. “One of the most important issues within the… Read more »