Richard Neal
DHappy World Teachers' Day! Today, I want to recognize the educators who have dedicated their careers to opening doors for our children and supporting the next generation of leaders. For years, I fought to reform the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), an unfair provision that devastated Social Security benefits for almost 90,000 retired public servants—teachers included—here in Massachusetts. Teachers and public servants should never be penalized for playing by the rules. That is why I was proud to help champion the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025, which repealed WEP and the Government Pension Offset. As a result, this change restored Social Security benefits for millions of public servants, including teachers, and brought peace of mind to MA residents. On World Teachers’ Day, I’m proud to stand with our teachers. Thank you all for everything you do, not just today but every day.
It says a lot that the President would rather bribe voters than work with his party to actually lower costs and deliver on real promises that could earn their votes.
What a pleasure it was to walk in North Adams’ 70th Annual Fall Foliage Parade yesterday. The energy from the participants and the crowd was incredible. Thank you to the organizers, volunteers, and local leaders who worked so hard to put on such a memorable tradition. Nothing beats fall in the Berkshires!
I was proud to join 217 of my colleagues in signing the discharge petition to bring the Major Richard Star Act to the floor for a vote. The only problem is that after only seven legislative workdays between August and September, Speaker Johnson sent everyone home. Republicans have no problem funding the reckless war of choice in Iran or giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, but when it comes to funding the benefits our veterans have earned and deserve, they are nowhere to be found.
Election Day is just 30 days away! The future depends on our choices at the ballot box. If you’re planning to vote by mail, remember that applications are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. Early voting runs October 17–30. https://t.co/ZD7019TWLE
For too many Massachusetts families, the cost of health care is one of the biggest pressures on their household budgets. That’s why I’ve made expanding access and making care more affordable a top priority during my time in Congress. Let's continue this critical work together. https://t.co/durPCjNNH6
Pleased to have been able to attend the Italian flag raising ceremony hosted by the Italian Cultural Center of Western Massachusetts at Springfield City Hall. It’s always great celebrating the vibrant communities that make Western and Central Mass so unique. https://t.co/mOgd1pMkxT
Grateful for the opportunity to join with Lieutenant Governor Driscoll @KimDriscollMA, Mayor Sarno @SarnoForMayor, State Senator Oliveira @JakeForSenate, and members of both Senator @EdMarkey and Governor Healey's @maura_healey teams for a coordinated campaign phone bank. There is no substitute for getting on the phones and having meaningful conversations with the communities we are here to serve. We are fighting for a better future for Massachusetts residents, and I'm glad we are doing it together.
SPRINGFIELD, MA— Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the September 2026 jobs report: “There’s a reason nearly three-quarters of Americans reject Trump’s handling of the economy: it’s delivering record high diesel and gas prices, the worst consumer confidence on record, and inflation that wipes out wage growth month after month. Today’s report illustrates the pain that comes with Republican governance. Lackluster performance that drives less opportunity, higher prices, and smaller paychecks for you. The only thing Republicans are fueling is hardship that workers and families can’t bear. “Trump may have campaigned as a businessman, but he’s governing as a grifter determined to destroy the economy while he enriches himself and his billionaire friends. Republicans have no plan to fix it as their health care cuts, tariffs, and war permeate through the economy and stretch families to the breaking point. The time to change course is now. Democrats are ready to answer the call to build an economy that finally delivers for you.” ###
My full statement on this months jobs report here: https://t.co/FBEXl448FX
Today’s jobs report shows why nearly three-quarters of Americans reject Trump’s economy: 🔴 Fewer opportunities 🔴 Higher prices 🔴 Paychecks that can’t keep up And it's clear Republicans have no intention of stopping Trump and his friends from enriching themselves at your expense for as long as they can.
Seven months after the start of President Trump’s illegal war against Iran, Massachusetts families are paying the price. Make your voice heard at the ballot box this November. https://t.co/zRpVBFBO43
This is a consequential moment on the island of Ireland. The Orange Order parade represents a return to the divisions of the past. After 28 years of progress thanks to the Good Friday Agreement, we have come too far to turn back now. Today, I joined my colleagues in the Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus in writing to the British Secretary of State Bryant, calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to cancel the Orange Order parade on Garvaghy Road.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal (D-MA-01) and U.S. Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus, led the Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus in a letter addressed to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Bryant, calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to cancel the Orange Order parade on Garvaghy Road. “Over the last three decades, the progress made on the island of Ireland has been nothing short of extraordinary. Twenty-eight years have passed since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, and a generation has grown without a single memory of the Troubles,” the lawmakers wrote. “It was that same 28-year period that saw the end of the controversial Orange Order marches on Garvaghy Road in a majority-Catholic area of Portadown. During the Troubles, these parades became a symbol of the sectarian tensions, public disorder, and violence that once threatened Northern Ireland’s peace. “This is a consequential moment on the island of Ireland, which is why we respectfully urge you to put a stop to this march,” continued the lawmakers.”Failing to intervene and allowing this contentious parade to move forward would risk undermining the progress that has been painstakingly built over the past three decades. As a guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the United States has a vested interest in seeing the principles embodied in the accord upheld, ensuring the gains we have achieved can be enjoyed for generations to come.” A copy of the letter can be found here. ###
We're full steam ahead on West-East Rail! Over the past five years, I’m proud to have helped deliver more than $150 million in funding for West-East Rail, laying the groundwork for stronger regional connections that will support economic development and improve mobility for residents and workers alike. Thanks to the leadership of @MassGovernor, what was once an idea in the making is now becoming reality.
Learn more: https://t.co/4uCu5GMfNh
My full statement: https://t.co/EZV4qhSDH2
Lowering tariffs on China while socking our allies, like Canada, with job-killing, price-hiking tariffs isn’t a strategy – it’s more weakness that people can’t afford. Trump will do anything for a way out of his abysmal economic record, even if it means selling out American workers and businesses.
Who says learning about civics can’t be fun? https://t.co/JEsQjeWIXx
More here: https://t.co/2AYitDUch6
These taxpayer-funded ads do nothing to serve you. They only serve Trump. This is yet another example of how Trump is again ripping off the American people and elevating himself all on the taxpayers’ dime.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer: while Trump is using tax dollars to promote himself on TV, he’s taking more resources away from communities that need them. Congress already approved this funding, and denying these funds to the American people is a blatant attack on Congress’s constitutional powers.
SPRINGFIELD, MA— Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced its intention to lower tariffs on China: “By every measure, President Trump’s trade war with the world has failed. Coupled with his war of choice with Iran that has sent fuel prices to historically high levels, Trump has brought nothing but higher costs for families, less opportunity for workers, chaos for small business owners, and fractured partnerships abroad. Desperate for a way out of his abysmal economic record, Trump is again selling out American workers and businesses by cowering to China when they’ve done nothing to address their manipulative trade and market behavior. “This capitulation comes as he unjustifiably doubles down on his trade war with our most important trading partners. Treating the world’s greatest trade cheat with kid gloves while socking our allies with more job-killing, price-hiking tariffs isn’t a strategy. It’s more weakness that families can’t afford. Enough of the red-carpet rollouts and backroom deals, it’s beyond time to return to sensible trade policy that actually delivers for the American people.” ###
Trump’s Administration has repeatedly failed to keep your data safe. Now, this decision lets Trump use your SSA data for something it was never meant to do: verify voter eligibility. Your data should be protected, not misused as a tool in Trump’s voter suppression agenda.
As the Co-Chair of the Friends of Ireland Caucus for the U.S. House Representatives, I urge the British Secretary of State Bryant to weigh in on this consequential moment on the island of Ireland. 28 years after the historic Good Friday Agreement, allowing this contentious parade to proceed would represent a marked step backward. It is within the Secretary of State’s remit to use his office to preserve the peace and stability that has been painstakingly built for the past three decades, and to prevent a return to the divisions of the past. Failing to do so would be a disservice to the next generation, who seek peace, prosperity, and a shared future.