Richard E. Neal

Additionally, he is the Dean of the New England Congressional Delegation, where he brings the regional issues and perspectives of New England’s six states to the forefront of the Congressional agenda.

Over his career in Congress, Congressman Neal has been an advocate of fairness and simplification of the U.S. tax code, supporter of policies that increase the national savings rate, fought relentlessly to protect Social Security and Medicare from privatization, promoted Financial Aid Seminars for college-bound students and families, been instrumental in economic development initiatives throughout the district, and much more.

A trip to the grocery store costs more than it used to. So does filling a prescription. I know the middle class needs help. Donald Trump gave billions in tax cuts to the very wealthy. That's why I'm taking on Trump, fighting for middle-class tax cuts, investing in our communities, ending the tariffs that raise your prices, and opposing reckless wars that threaten our security and our economy.

I'm proud to work for the people of Western and Central Massachusetts. As your Congressman, I've fought tirelessly for hard-working families and future generations by protecting Social Security and Medicare, lowering costs, standing up to Donald Trump's abuse of power, and making sure our region gets its fair share.

My promise to you remains the same: I will always have your back. It is an honor to serve as your Congressman, and I would be grateful for the opportunity to earn your vote because I'm not done fighting.

“I will always use my position as Chairman to ensure that LGBTQ+ people receive fair treatment, and to reaffirm the declaration that there is no place for hate here in America.”

With the recent influx of migrants in Massachusetts, Richie has called for comprehensive immigration reform – the first in nearly 40 years. He supports commonsense solutions like expediting work visas, which would allow migrant families to earn an income and create financial independence.

Universal Background Checks: a universal background check law would ensure that people prohibited from purchasing firearms cannot do so through an unregulated sale from an unlicensed or online seller or at a gun show. Closing this background check loophole is critical to making sure criminals and other dangerous people do not have access to firearms. It is also a policy supported by 90 percent of Americans.

Strong labor unions are one of the best ways to protect workers and ensure fair wages. Richie is proud to be labor-endorsed and will always fight for the right to organize. The AFL-CIO scored Richie’s 2023 voting record at 100%, with a lifetime score of 98%.

“As a father and grandfather, I don’t think parents should have to worry about the safety of their children when they drop them off at school in the morning.”

Richie knows that we must address police brutality and excessive force, which disproportionately affect people of color.

Expand middle-class tax relief, including the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit.

• Direct tax relief toward working and middle-class households.
• Help families manage rising costs.

End tariffs that raise prices for U.S. consumers.

• Remove trade costs the campaign says increase household prices.

Protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts or privatization.

• Preserve retirement and health benefits.
• Continue strengthening the programs.

Oppose wars that threaten U.S. security and the economy.

• Use restraint in decisions involving military conflict.

Improve and expand passenger rail between Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, and Boston.

• Continue development of East-West Rail.
• Use transportation investment to support regional economies.

Expedite work visas as part of comprehensive immigration reform.

• Let migrant families earn income and become financially independent.
• Modernize the immigration system.

Support the DREAM Act, a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, and access to Affordable Care Act benefits.

• Protect DREAMers from removal.
• Provide a path to citizenship.
• Extend health-coverage eligibility.

Create pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and protect immigrant communities from intolerance.

• Welcome new Americans.
• Pair legalization pathways with community protection.

Protect birthright citizenship.

• Preserve citizenship for people born in the United States under the constitutional rule.

Enact a new federal assault-weapons ban.

• Restrict civilian access to weapons covered by the proposed ban.

Ban bump stocks.

• Prohibit devices that increase the firing rate of semiautomatic firearms.

Require background checks for all commercial gun sales, including online, gun-show, and other unlicensed sales.

• Close private-sale and commercial-sale loopholes.
• Prevent prohibited purchasers from bypassing the system.

Extend firearm prohibitions to dating-partner abusers and convicted stalkers.

• Close the dating-partner loophole.
• Cover convicted stalking offenses.

Prohibit people on the federal No Fly List from purchasing firearms.

• Link the aviation-security list to firearm purchase eligibility.

Allow and fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research gun violence and gun-safety measures.

• Build evidence for public-safety policy.
• Support research into effective interventions.

Require states to report disqualifying mental-health records to the FBI firearm background-check system.

• Close gaps in reporting.
• Prevent prohibited purchasers from using record omissions.

Oppose arming school teachers as a response to gun violence.

• Direct school resources toward education and other safety measures instead.

Set a national minimum age of 21 for purchasing any firearm.

• Apply the age floor in every state.

Pass the bipartisan Thompson-King Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act.

• Help states submit records to the background-check system.
• Cover all commercial firearm sales.

Expand the American Opportunity Tax Credit and other tax incentives for students, families, and student-loan borrowers.

• Make higher education more affordable.
• Reduce the burden of tuition and repayment.

Expand community-college, certificate, registered-apprenticeship, technical-school, and on-the-job training opportunities.

• Create pathways to skilled careers.
• Help employers meet workforce needs.

Protect labor unions and the right of workers to organize.

• Support union jobs with strong wages and benefits.
• Use organized labor to strengthen the middle class.

Use federal tax incentives to expand affordable housing.

• Encourage investment in affordable homes.
• Address housing costs through the tax code.

Pass the Justice in Policing Act to ban chokeholds and drug-case no-knock warrants, end qualified immunity, create a misconduct registry, and prohibit discriminatory profiling.

• Strengthen police accountability.
• Standardize named federal safeguards.
• Prevent officers dismissed for misconduct from moving without disclosure.

End the death penalty and make executions harder to carry out while abolition remains pending.

• Oppose capital punishment.
• Support federal legislation and votes restricting its use.

Address racial and economic disparities in maternal mortality.

• Develop federal solutions informed by oversight and legislation.
• Focus on inequitable health outcomes.

Voted for funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions and for student-aid reforms described by the campaign.

Protect and improve the Affordable Care Act while working toward universal health coverage.

• Cover more people.
• Make coverage more affordable.
• Preserve protections for people with preexisting conditions.

Expand the number of drugs Medicare may negotiate and extend negotiated prices and inflation penalties to private and employer coverage.

• Lower prescription costs beyond current Medicare rules.
• Apply negotiated savings more broadly.

Reauthorize and modernize elder-justice programs with dedicated funding for medical-legal needs, social isolation, and long-term-care workforce gaps.

• Protect seniors and people with disabilities.
• Fund proven services.
• Address workforce and social-support needs.

Pass the Nursing Home Ownership and Accountability Act to improve ownership transparency, care quality, accountability, and staffing.

• Close information gaps about facility ownership.
• Invest in the foundation of nursing-home care.
• Improve preparedness for public-health emergencies.

Expand opioid treatment and prevention rather than relying on stricter criminal penalties.

• Treat addiction as a public-health issue.
• Preserve Medicaid expansion and treatment access.

Integrate sustainability and environmental protection into trade, infrastructure, health care, and other federal policy.

• Continue clean-energy deployment and efficiency.
• Treat climate action as a cross-cutting federal priority.

Pass the Equality Act to codify consistent federal civil-rights protections for LGBTQ+ people.

• Prohibit discrimination across major areas of public life.
• Put equal rights into federal law.

Support opportunities for Puerto Rico to choose statehood through self-determination.

• Respect the island’s status choice.
• Continue federal support for a democratic resolution.

Increase Social Security benefit amounts and strengthen the program for beneficiaries.

• Improve retirement income.
• Preserve the program rather than privatize it.

Correct the Windfall Elimination Provision and provide monthly payments to affected current retirees.

• Reduce the benefit penalty for public servants.
• Apply relief to current WEP retirees.

Supports expanding workplace retirement-saving opportunities for long-term part-time workers.