News List

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal ran through a list of ongoing and upcoming achievements Friday at the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Outlook 2025 lunch: west-east rail, the F-35 fighter jets coming to Westfield, American Rescue Plan Act, the inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law the CHIPS and Science Act.   It’s typical for these types of… Read more »

Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Oversight Subcommittee Ranking Member Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Ranking Member Danny K. Davis (D-IL) demanded answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and Treasury Secretary Bessent on DOGE’s latest unlawful and unjust incursion into taxpayer data. The National… Read more »

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, continues cutting costs by canceling the leases of several federal offices across the country including several buildings here in Massachusetts. But what does that mean for us at home?   Congressman Neal told us point blank that he feels very little thought has gone into these terminations and he would not be surprised if they were… Read more »

Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today introduced Resolutions to terminate President Trump’s unlawful use of “emergency” authorities to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The Resolutions end the Administration’s abuse of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which it has used to justify tariffs based on a… Read more »

Local shelter providers are worried changes within the Department of Housing and Urban Development could gut their response to housing insecurity and homelessness in the Berkshires.   President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, an entity known by DOGE and overseen by Elon Musk, is planning sweeping staff cuts at HUD and promising to root out so-called spending… Read more »

The Silvio O. Conte Federal Building has been labeled as “surplus” and therefore under consideration for possible sale by the Trump administration.   Named for the late Republican U.S. congressman from Pittsfield, the federal building at 78 Center St. houses offices for the Social Security Administration, the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and one of… Read more »

Congressman Richard Neal spoke shortly after Trump’s address.   Congressman Neal says he hopes for a restoration of relations with Ukraine as calls for a peace deal grow, and to renew relations with Canada and Mexico as new tariffs take effect on imported goods.   He also criticized the administration’s mass layoffs sweeping the federal government. “I also hope that there be… Read more »

Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement lambasting Trump’s Trade War:  “It’s only taken the president 43 days to wreak havoc on our economy and the American people. The outlook for economic growth has plummeted into the negative, consumer sentiment has plunged, and small businesses and farmers from coast-to-coast fear what’s to… Read more »

This story has been updated with information from a congressional hearing on Tuesday morning.   When President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress tonight for the first time since his return to office, Michael Slater will be in the audience at the U.S. Capitol.   Slater, 42, was a probationary employee at the Springfield Vet Center for about seven months until… Read more »

Clyvanor Corp. has 75 American workers at its plant in Palmer. Tariffs that went into effect Tuesday are expected to make this and other work around the region more costly.   The company uses lumber from Canadian forests as well as hardware from Canadian factories to fabricate roof and floor trusses for Massachusetts homes and buildings, said company president Stephane… Read more »