In the News

PITTSFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, expressed confidence in his party's efforts to invest in infrastructure and to provide pandemic relief, despite Republican aversion to large spending bills amid the economic downturn.

Neal's comments followed the rollout last week of the "Moving Forward Act," an infrastructure plan by Democrats that would allocate $1.5 trillion to improve highways, railroads, broadband, renewable energy and the U.S. Postal Service, among other items.

The infrastructure effort predates COVID-19, but Democrats are styling the initiative as a bid to stimulate economic growth while the country battles record unemployment.

But, Republicans already are balking at the most recent COVID-19 relief bill, dubbed the HEROES Act, which would pump $3 trillion into everything from state and local governments to small businesses. It also would extend weekly $600 federal unemployment benefits through January, and provide for another round of stimulus checks for $1,200, and up to $6,000 for a household.

The bill passed the House last month but is stalled in the Republican-led Senate, where some lawmakers have criticized it as a "liberal wish list."

Still, Neal said he doesn't see why Republicans, especially at the White House, wouldn't be willing to work with Democrats on infrastructure, which often is seen as a bipartisan issue.

"Every conversation I've had with [U.S. Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin — which is generally weekly — ends with a conversation about infrastructure," Neal said at a news conference unveiling the infrastructure bill. "He's queried me time and again about how it works, how the patterns work, how the funding proceeds, but he has said, `We're in.'"

While President Donald Trump has toyed with launching his own infrastructure plan, Neal illuminated some of the White House's thinking on Friday, at a news event in Pittsfield.

"They are trying to figure out whether they should include infrastructure in the HEROES Act, or do it separately," he said of the Trump administration. "I want both. If they include infrastructure in the HEROES Act, that's fine with me."

Neal said combining the bills could be a win for Trump, speculating that the president doesn't want to appear spend-happy close to the November election.

"What they're trying to avoid at the White House is round five and round six," he said, referring to iterations of coronavirus relief aid. "That's what this is about."

But, among the infrastructure bill's big asks are initiatives that might not sit well with Republicans. The proposal calls for renewable energy investment to the tune of $70 billion and $3 billion for marine pollution cleanup, priorities that cut against the president's move to loosen Obama-era environmental restrictions. The bill also pours $25 billion into the Postal Service, which Trump publicly has threatened to defund.

Neal said he was confident, though, that renewable energy funding would be included in a Republican-backed amalgamation of the infrastructure and relief bills.

"People are going to have to take into consideration water levels, rising tides. That's science," he told The Eagle. "I think that there's still enough people that are around the White House that would embrace that position."

While Neal did not count Mnuchin as one of those people, he said the Trump administration had embraced "infrastructure in a broader context."

When asked what gave him confidence that Republicans would agree on a more specific context of infrastructure, namely, one that includes renewables, Neal didn't offer specifics, but he pointed instead to his veteran status in Congress.

"We're gonna pass the legislation, and we can do it with Donald Trump or we're going to do it with Joe Biden," he said. "I've been at this for a while, and I've had a pretty good record of getting things done."

Neal mentioned that increased broadband access for rural states with Republican lawmakers might be a way to sway the naysayers.

"That's how you build legislation," he said, then referred to The Rolling Stones' song lyrics. "You've got to find out what they need. It's like Mick Jagger, you know? It's not just what you want, it's what you need."

A straight combination of the two bills would cost about $4.5 trillion, but Neal said the negotiating table likely will change that number.

"I do think, for the purposes of negotiating, that you always build in things, and we want to see how far you go," he said. "There's some surprises that take place when negotiating."

Neal declined to comment on what Democrats might part with to forge a deal with Republicans, but emphasized that his party can pass what he has called "the most substantive climate change bill in American history."

"I think we're getting an infrastructure bill done this year," he said. "I feel pretty good."