In the News

SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, citing support from the Trump White House, once again called for an infrastructure construction plan to get the country moving again in the wake of the coronavirus emergency.

“We are in the phase now of stability and renewal,” Neal, D-Springfield, said following a news conference. “I think in terms of recovery, these kinds of longterm investments in infrastructure are going to be needed.”

Neal spoke Wednesday with reporters outside his local offices at the U.S. District Courthouse on State Street in Springfield. Neal discussed the $3 trillion coronavirus response legislation he and fellow House Democrats took to the public Tuesday. A vote is set for Friday.

The spending plan raises criticisms about how it’ll be financed given the dire state of the economy.

Neal, chairman of the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, addressed himself Wednesday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican .

“In this instance here, let us remind ourselves (the the Senate) majority leader authorized a $2.3 trillion tax cut,” Neal said. “The benefits of which went disproportionately to the very wealthiest individuals.”

And that tax cut, passed when the GOP had the White House and both chambers of Congress in 2017, grows every year.

Now, Neal said the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates to make sure there is enough cash circulating in the economy. This means that any borrowing the federal government does will be done at very low interest rates.