“As Massachusetts launches Phase One of reopening the state, there are plenty of questions about what to expect. To answer some of those questions, 22News is bringing together members of Massachusetts’ delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, community and business leaders for “COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall”... Congressman Richard Neal told 22News that the Heroes Act bill includes another round of stimulus payments that is needed now more than ever.”
Read More“Congressman Richard Neal, the chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called the new relief legislation a “non-starter.” Neal explained though at a press conference on May 13 that McConnell had said similar things before other legislation designed to help citizens and businesses survive through the pandemic… In a written statement, Neal said, “The Heroes Act is another step forward on our road to recovery from the devastating effects of this virus. It is a necessary investment in the American economy and in science-based strategies to fight the pandemic.”
Read More“‘People across our nation are hurting, and Congress must take extraordinary, immediate action to provide them with relief,’ Rep. Richard E. Neal said earlier this week. ‘Families are feeling the pain of a terrible one-two punch – a national public health emergency coupled with a historic economic downturn. The gravity of our new reality demands substantial solutions, and that’s what Ways and Means Democrats offer in this latest response package.’”
Read More“In times of depression and war. And in a pandemic... That's when government must dig deep to help citizens, the Berkshires' representative in Congress said Wednesday. For that reason, the crisis brought on by the coronavirus will again persuade lawmakers to overcome partisan division, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal told reporters outside his office at the U.S. District Court in Springfield…”
Read More“U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said Wednesday he is confident that the new $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill that he and his House Democratic colleagues unveiled a day earlier will soon get money flowing to states and to cities and towns grappling with the enormous expenses and revenue shortfalls of COVID-19. ‘We are moving to stabilization and recovery,’ Neal said of the legislation, about two-thirds of it falling under the purview of the House Ways and Means Committee he chairs in Washington.”
Read More“U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said work on another round of federal stimulus for the coronavirus-ravaged economy will be public in ‘a few days’. It will have money for hospitals, Neal said, as well as money for state and local governments struggling with revenue losses and increased expenses from the coronavirus crisis. It’s possible there will be more payments to individuals as well.”
Read More“The IRS ruled that a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrower who spends PPP funds on normal business expenses cannot deduct those expenditures for federal tax purposes. But its position, which left many in Congress wondering if the IRS missed the 335-page memo, may not be the last word. Today, a bipartisan group of congressional leaders formally alerted the Treasury Department that they “believe the position taken in the [IRS] Notice ignores the overarching intent of the PPP, as well as the specific intent of Congress to allow deductions in the case of PPP loan recipients.” In other words, they believe the IRS got it dead wrong.
The group of congressional members is headed by Chuck Grassley and Richard Neal, the chairmen of the top tax committees in the Senate and the House, respectively.”
Read More“The U.S. government should suspend all tariffs on products needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic for 90 days and take steps to boost domestic production of medical supplies and drugs, a key U.S. lawmaker said on Monday. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal called the pandemic a "wake up call" that revealed serious deficiencies in U.S. medical supply chains, urging a major restructuring to improve readiness for future crises.”
Read More“The White House may be trying to pump the brakes on the next round of economic relief being discussed in Congress, but U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said Monday that it’s full steam ahead for House Democrats, who want to provide more aid to state and local governments, as well as hospitals, families and the unemployed. ‘We’re writing it now,’ Neal told the News Service in a phone interview from Springfield on Monday afternoon.”
Read More“Kevin and Jennifer Chateauneuf can’t let folks eat at the dining stools at Nick’s Nest, the 99-year-old hot dog stand on Northampton Street they’ve owned for 15 years. And everyone — even U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who visited Thursday to talk about the federal Paycheck Protection Program — has to wear a mask when they come in to order… The Chateauneufs hosted Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, along with two other loan recipients, Peter Rosskothen, owner of the Log Cabin banquet facility, and Michael Zaskey, owner of Zasco Productions in Chicopee, and others. ‘I can’t imagine Holyoke without Nick’s Nest and without the Log Cabin,’ Neal said Thursday.”
Read More“Two of the region’s powerful politicians played pivotal roles on a pair of COVID-19 measures — a $484 billion aid package and the creation of a subcommittee to oversee coronavirus spending — approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. U.S Rep Richard Neal, D-Springfield, led House debate on the aid package that will see $321 billion shore up the empty “Paycheck Protection Program” meant for small businesses, $75 billion in emergency aid for hospitals, $60 billion in economic disaster loans for small businesses and $25 billion for coronavirus testing.”
Read More“As the reopening debate wages across the country, reviving the economy has been one of the most cited arguments for relaxing social distancing. However, with more small business assistance working its way through Capitol Hill, Congressman Richard Neal, who was in western Mass. today, is speaking out on efforts to help the economy reopen.”
Read More“U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said Tuesday he expects to go back to Washington later this week and vote on a new $484 billion coronavirus relief bill, legislation he said he spent the weekend hashing out with the Trump administration while working in concert with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others.”
Read More“The Paycheck Protection Program was set up to help small businesses stay open during the coronavirus pandemic, but within two weeks that money was drained. Now efforts are underway in Congress to replenish the funds. Western Mass News spoke with Congressman Richard Neal today - who said this new package, under discussion in Washington, will not only help small businesses but also hospitals and expand coronavirus testing.”
Read More“Rep. Richard Neal said an agreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate on the next coronavirus relief package is "imminent.” The veteran Massachusetts congressman spoke about the talks surrounding the fourth COVID-19 relief bill during a live appearance on WCVB's "On the Record" Sunday, which he made remotely from outside his Springfield home.”
Read More“Five cities in the 1st Congressional District represented by US Rep Richard Neal are getting 4.8 million under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed last week in Washington.”
Read More“The package of legislation cleared the Senate by unanimous vote and nearly unanimous in the House of Representatives. On Saturday, House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal, who represents Massachusetts’ 1st Congressional District, spoke to the press, outlining the provisions in the bill.”
Read More“U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., one of the authors of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed and signed into law Friday, doesn’t like thinking of it as a stimulus bill. Instead, the Springfield Democrat described it during an interview with reporters Saturday as a relief and stabilization bill — a confidence boost in the face of what he now thinks of as an ‘economic contagion.’”
Read More“Days after Gov. Charlie Baker submitted economic relief loans through the Small Business Administration, the Massachusetts congressional delegation sent a letter to the agency on Wednesday backing his call for emergency assistance as result of the coronavirus… U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey signed the letter, as well as U.S. Representatives Richard Neal, Jim McGovern, Stephen Lynch, Bill Keating, Joseph Kennedy III, Katherine Clark, Seth Moulton, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan.”
Read More“Stimulus checks from the federal government meant to head off long-term financial fallout from the coronavirus epidemic should go to people who make $50,000 a year or less, U.S. Rep.Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said Wednesday.”
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