Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Congressman Auchincloss: An Update For the past 2 weeks (03/05/24)

LAST 2 WEEKS IN REVIEW

I'm your representative in Congress and I write to keep you informed.

Standing with our allies
30th anniversary of the Brady Bill
Attorneys General share support for my drug-pricing efforts
Protecting kids online with the Dads Caucus
Talking transportation with Radio Boston

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The state of Massachusetts manufacturing
Medically tailored meals in Mansfield
Virtual Roundtables with constituents across the district

On the Hill

Standing with our allies: I joined CNN to discuss funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Putin's murder of Alexei Navalny is emblematic of his drive towards autocratic governance – a repressive vision shared by dictators like Xi Jinping. Ukraine is fighting on the front lines against this assault on democracy. Navalny's murder underscores why it is so critical to fund Ukraine and all our democratic allies abroad.

Next, we turned to the Israel-Hamas war. I stressed the immediate need to secure the return of the hostages, surge aid, and deny Hamas, which has immiserated the Palestinian people and vowed to repeat the atrocities of October 7th, any role in postwar governance of Gaza.

Right now, there is a deal on the table that would enable a temporary ceasefire, unlock aid, and return many of the hostages. Israel has agreed to it. For the sake of the hostages and the Palestinian people, Hamas must accept it.

Then, I followed up with WBUR, where I explained why Speaker Mike Johnson won't bring the Senate's national security bill to the House floor: he's afraid of Trump. The House has the votes to pass funding for our allies in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza; it has the support of a bipartisan majority. But the MAGA flank is vociferous, and Speaker Johnson fears they'll move to oust him for standing up to what a former Bush 41 foreign policy advisor has called the GOP's "bizarre romance with Russian authoritarianism."

Speaker Johnson does not have control of his conference and is on the way out, regardless. His legacy will be defined by whether he stands with Ukraine.

Recognizing 30 years of the Brady Bill: I shared my thoughts with you last week on the enduring legacy of the Brady Bill, which has blocked almost 4.9 million illegal gun transactions since its enactment in 1994. Last Congress, we passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the first major piece of gun safety legislation since Brady's passage. 90 percent of Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike – want to expand Brady to include universal background checks and strengthen extreme risk protection orders, or "red flag" laws, to prevent criminals from purchasing guns. I am committed to going beyond thoughts and prayers and to working with members of good conscience across the aisle to enact bipartisan, common-sense gun safety legislation that will end the scourge of gun violence in America.

Attorneys General share support for my drug-pricing efforts: I was happy to see Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and a coalition of attorneys general from across the country send a letter to Congressional Leadership last week in support of drug-pricing legislation that I helped introduce in the House. The letter states that "the DRUG Act, Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act, and The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act…would be an important step toward reforming this industry." Among other things, these bills would de-link PBM compensation from the cost of medications, prohibit spread pricing and patient steering, and prohibit PBMs from paying affiliated pharmacies more than independent community pharmacies. In plain English: they would help lower drug prices for patients!

I have been encouraged to see the efforts of state regulators and law enforcement to stop PBMs from evading state law and regulations. Now, Congress must pass legislation so that state and federal regulators have the necessary tools to work together to finally hold drug-pricing middlemen accountable.

Talking transportation with Radio Boston: I spoke with WBUR about my ideas for replacing the federal gas tax with state and local funding mechanisms as we look toward a transportation system unencumbered by automobile dominance. The federal government induces states and cities to choose highways over transit by offering better deals on funding for these projects. Owning two cars shouldn't be a precondition to participate in civil society.

In a 2022 op-ed, I explained why the federal gas tax would be better used to subsidize locally-sponsored projects that promote walkability, micromobility, and transit:
"The benefits of reforming federal highway funding and changing the way we spend the federal gas tax would be swift and tangible. First, giving states and cities more latitude will encourage local innovation, helping us find better transportation solutions and root out failed practices.

Second, it will compel honest accounting of the cost of car-centric infrastructure. Right now, federal gas tax revenue incentivizes states to build and build without thinking about the compounded costs of maintaining an ever-expanding roadway, which are paid for by our children in the form of federal debt. Eliminating that revenue stream eliminates that unsustainable incentive.

Third, a transparent account of the costs of maintenance will make it more likely that states implement strategies like congestion pricing and improved alternative mobility options, like cycling lanes, rail, and on-demand transit. The transition will be disruptive to politicians and bureaucrats, but the net effect will be a lower carbon footprint, better mobility, and more walkable downtowns."

Protecting kids online: I was appointed Chair of a new Congressional Dads Caucus working group focused on children's mental health and online safety. The Technology, Media, and the Family Working Group will convene subject matter experts to educate members on issues related to modern technology and media and their impact on families, particularly children.

As a millennial parent in Congress, I know parents shouldn't have to wrestle with trillion-dollar social media corporations over what's best for their children. Meta, TikTok, and the rest are attention-fracking America's youth, but they are so big and profitable that they have knocked down objectors. As Chair of this working group, I am intent on taking on their corporate greed to protect our children's mental health, cognitive development, and sense of self.

Are you concerned about the impact of social media on children's mental health?

Around the Fourth

The state of manufacturing in MA: I joined State Senator Paul Feeney and MassMEP at CPS Technologies in Norton to discuss how I am working to help equip Bay Staters to pursue the roughly 150,000 manufacturing jobs that require moderate on-the-job training, but no experience or degree. We also discussed the current landscape of manufacturing in Massachusetts. The Voice of the Manufacturer Survey in Massachusetts quantified my own impression from dozens of conversations with manufacturers across our district: access to talent is the most significant concern right now. According to the survey, 'availability of skilled labor' was the most commonly cited impediment to growth.

To build a skilled workforce for the 21st century, there are two steps Congress should take that would secure our border and our economic future:

Pass the bipartisan DIGNITY Act, which would help secure the border and provide documentation & dignity for immigrants, while also creating a skills fund, open to all, for apprenticeships and earn-and-learn programs financed by fees and back-taxes from naturalization; and
Encourage the federal government to set a better example in its own hiring practices by not defaulting to degree requirements that screen out qualified applicants without degrees.

Medically tailored meals in Mansfield: I also joined Community Servings, a nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals for patients and their families, at their Mansfield ribbon-cutting ceremony. The thought leaders and volunteers at Community Servings are not only helping people in a moment of illness and insecurity; studies indicate that they are also taking costs out of the health care system by treating the whole person, including their daily nutrition needs. I hope Community Servings' approach to food as medicine can help inspire a broader societal reckoning with our appetite for the high-sugar, ultra-processed foods that are ultimately making us sicker.

Virtual roundtables with constituents across the district: Over the past two weeks, I held a series of virtual roundtables with constituents in Brookline, North Attleborough, Mansfield, Sharon, Dover, Sherborn, Needham, Blackstone, Millville, Medfield, and Taunton. We discussed a wide range of topics from immigration, the Israel-Hamas war, and aid to Ukraine and our allies abroad to funding for complex disease research and access to multimodal transportation. I am encouraged by my neighbors' eagerness to engage in conversations about how federal policy impacts them at home. I value these virtual roundtable conversations with constituents and, along with phone calls, online opinion submissions, and informal conversations across the district with residents, it helps me to better serve as your voice and vote in Congress.

In addition to these community-centered conversations, I invited students from across MA-04 to join me for a virtual roundtable during the February school break. These bright students came prepared with great questions about the House, improving access to diabetes medications, what I did for fun at their age (read American history), and my favorite part of being a Member of Congress (calling high school seniors who have been accepted into military service academies).

Onwards,