In the News

HOLYOKE — In an attempt to quell budding dissent over a $400 million proposal to build a new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, the region’s most powerful federal lawmaker jumped into the fray.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal — a Springfield Democrat and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee — on Wednesday called state Senate President Karen Spilka and new House Speaker Ronald Mariano as the debate over the bond bill heated up.

“I lobbied enthusiastically for the bond bill,” Neal said on Thursday. “It went swimmingly well.”

The House Ways and Means Committee is among the most powerful in federal government as it essentially serves as the purse strings for the White House. The committee is behind the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill signed into law last week by President Joe Biden.

Plans for a new Soldiers’ Home were accelerated after nearly 80 veterans died in a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility last spring.

The $400 million state bond bill proposal has raised eyebrows among some legislators and veterans’ advocates in eastern Massachusetts. Detractors have balked at the price tag and wonder what will be left over for veterans services for the rest of the state.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton raised concerns about the project during a legislative committee hearing on Tuesday.

“Maybe there should be a look at what else really needs to be done, for a greater number of veterans across the state,” Pacheco, co-chairman of the Administrative and Regulatory Oversight Committee, said in advance of the hearing. “I’m not saying don’t do Holyoke ... not at all; that would be crazy. But whether or not they need $400 million of investment there is a legitimate question.”

Neal said state Sen. John Velis, a Westfield Democrat and chairman of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, called to solicit his help when the bond bill began hitting some headwinds.

“I appreciate Congressman Neal’s support of this project and many others. I often look to him for his guidance in navigating these issues,” said Velis, a freshman state senator who served multiple terms in the House.

Pacheco and some of his colleagues are specifically focused on what they believe is a lack of veterans services in southeastern Massachusetts. Neal said Spilka only inquired about whether he’d be willing to support additional funding for projects in that area.

“I said, absolutely,” Neal recounted.

The bond bill is facing an April 1 deadline for passage in the state Legislature to make an April 15 deadline to secure $260 million in reimbursed funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Supporters of the project hope to break ground next year.