Op-eds
USA Today: Any Coronavirus bailout must put workers first
As Congress responds to the coronavirus emergency, the financial security of workers and their families should be our first priority. That means making sure that any federal bailout of giant corporations directly helps their employees, fuels a grassroots recovery and ensures that those big companies make serious, long-term reforms that reduce the odds they're back before taxpayers again looking for another bailout.But the Trump administration's current proposals -- and the one released … Continue Reading
March 16, 2020
CNN: We need a grassroots stimulus package
The coronavirus relief package awaiting a Senate vote should not be delayed, and we must pass it immediately. But we need to do more.The US is heading toward a recession, and Speaker Pelosi has already announced plans for an additional emergency response package. This is the right approach. We must act quickly to enact a major fiscal stimulus package that wards off economic disaster. This legislation must meet the challenge of the crisis we face by taking the next steps crucial to … Continue Reading
February 24, 2020
Boston Globe: The coronavirus puts child care sector in need of a bailout
Parents across the Commonwealth face a painful economic bind: their children are at home, but the child care check is still due. COVID-19 has (rightfully) forced the closure of child care centers across Massachusetts. In doing so, it has forced a profound reckoning about the state of the American child care system.The child care sector — long overlooked and long deprived of adequate public investment — is foundational to today’s economy. Nearly 80 percent of parents with young children … Continue Reading
October 16, 2019
Boston Globe: Housing rule would make it harder to fight discrimination
During the housing boom of the early 2000s, Massachusetts homeowners Ana and Ismael Ramirez did what a lot of homeowners did: They used a broker to refinance their home.The mortgage company set prices looking at objective measures like credit history and outstanding debt. But the mortgage company also empowered the broker who sold the mortgage to jack up the Ramirezes’ mortgage rate even more and pocket some of the difference. The Ramirezes suspected they had been duped, and they weren’t … Continue Reading
September 13, 2019
The Eagle Tribune: Safety standards, accountability must enforced after gas disaster
We will never forget the confusion, the anger and the disbelief this time last year, when our Lawrence, North Andover and Andover communities shook from the gas pipeline explosions that destroyed homes, businesses and roads. The explosions left thousands without heat or hot water during some of the coldest months of the year, put dozens of people in the hospital, and tragically killed one young man, 18-year old Leonel Rondon. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report laid … Continue Reading
August 16, 2019
Indian Country Today: The federal government has a responsibility to write a new chapter in the story of its government-to-government relationship with tribal nations
The story of the United States' treatment of Native Americans is a profoundly painful one. It is a story of genocide and forced removal, of systematic oppression and broken promises. Despite this painful history, the story of Native American people today is also one of resilience in the face of oppression, achievement in every walk of life, and contribution to a country that has taken so much.The federal government has a responsibility to write a new chapter in the story of the United … Continue Reading
May 20, 2019
Boston Globe: Getting people the behavioral health care they need
Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled in favor of more than 50,000 patients who brought a class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, for unfairly denying their claims for mental health and substance use disorder treatment. In his ruling, the judge blasted UnitedHealth for cutting costs at patients’ expense and preventing them from getting recommended treatment unless their behavioral health issue was an emergency.This ruling was an important … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Brennan Center for Justice Op-Ed: End the Two-Tiered System of Justice
Four words are etched above the doors to the Supreme Court: "Equal Justice Under Law." That simple principle should be the foundation of our criminal justice system. But the hard truth is that America has two separate and very unequal justice systems. The first is a justice system exclusively for the wealthy and the well connected. For decades, Washington has let powerful corporate executives escape accountability, even when they scam millions of Americans or crash the U.S. economy. Take the … Continue Reading
May 09, 2019
CNN: Americans don't need cliché financial advice. They just need to be paid more
Chase Bank fired off a tweet last week staging a hypothetical conversation between one of its customers and her bank account. The customer asks why her account balance is low, and the bank tells her not to go out for food or coffee when she can make it at home instead, or to spend money on a cab when she can just walk. The customer pretends not to listen. "I guess we'll never know," she says, brushing off her low balance and the bank's "advice" on how to manage her money.When I read that … Continue Reading
December 19, 2018
The Eagle Tribune: Justice for the Merrimack Valley starts with real accountability
The Merrimack Valley gas explosions that occurred this past September were among the most horrific disasters Massachusetts has ever seen. Leonel Rondon, an 18-year-old high school student from Lawrence, tragically lost his life. Dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed, and thousands of people were stuck without heat and water in their homes for months. We saw firsthand the devastation these gas explosions caused across these communities. These explosions were a terrible tragedy, … Continue Reading
December 18, 2018
Washington Post: It's time to let the government manufacture generic drugs
Forty-seven states and the Justice Department are investigating a price-fixing conspiracy that's driving up the cost of generic drugs in the United States. One investigator called it "most likely the largest cartel in the history of the United States ." This crisis calls for action. That is why I'm introducing legislation to authorize the public manufacture of generic drugs wherever drug companies have warped markets to drive up prices. Drug companies use the "free market" as a shield against … Continue Reading
November 29, 2018
Foreign Affairs: A Foreign Policy for All
Around the world, democracy is under assault. Authoritarian governments are gaining power, and right-wing demagogues are gaining strength. Movements toward openness and pluralism have stalled. Inequality is growing, transforming rule by the people into rule by wealthy elites. And here in the United States, many Americans seem to accept-even embrace-the politics of division and resentment. How did we get here? There's a story Americans like to tell ourselves about how we built a liberal … Continue Reading
October 08, 2018
CNN: End US complicity in Yemen's humanitarian disaster
In August, the world watched in horror as a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Yemen claimed the lives of 40 innocent children. The boys, many under the age of 10, were killed when their school bus was bombed during a class trip. The weapon used in that deadly bombing was made in America.It was not the first time. In June, airstrikes hit a cholera treatment center run by Doctors Without Borders, even though it was clearly identified as a medical facility.In April, 20 civilians, many from a … Continue Reading
October 03, 2018
The Boston Globe: Judge Kavanaugh is a pro-gun judicial extremist
Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s partisan and openly disrespectful testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week raised serious questions about his judicial temperament and fitness to serve as a judge. There are many reasons Judge Kavanaugh does not deserve a promotion to our highest court, but it’s his disregard for common-sense gun safety that hits closest to home for people who have lost loved ones, friends, or colleagues to gun violence. On April 12, 2018, Denise and Patrick’s son, K9 … Continue Reading
October 01, 2018
The Root: Sen. Elizabeth Warren Breaks Down America’s Ugly History of Housing Discrimination and How She Plans to Fix It
Home ownership is at the heart of the American dream. Michael Smith, his wife, Janet, and their daughter, Ashley, were living that dream. They scrimped and saved for a down payment while he worked full-time moving packages for DHL, and Janet, for Chase. Finally, they bought a modest home with a small yard in a safe Chicago neighborhood.Then the crash of 2008 hit and the bottom fell out. In the space of a few months, DHL eliminated 14,900 jobs-including Michael's. After sixteen years … Continue Reading
September 18, 2018
Indianz: Empower tribal communities to address the suicide crisis
Native American reservations are experiencing an epidemic of suicide that is claiming the lives of countless young people. The lingering trauma of lost brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends echoes through families and communities across Indian Country for years, even generations. As members of Congress, we have the opportunity—and the responsibility—to mobilize federal resources and work with tribal communities on culturally relevant solutions that will save lives. We have introduced the … Continue Reading
September 14, 2018
The Boston Globe: 10 years after Lehman collapse, Washington is back to its old tricks
Ten years ago, Lehman Brothers collapsed and set off the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Over the next few years, millions of Americans who had worked hard and played by the rules lost their homes, millions lost their jobs, and millions lost their savings — all because Wall Street gambled with their families’ futures and lost. The damage was staggering. Congress put $700 billion publicly on the line and the Federal Reserve shoveled another $13 trillion through the back door … Continue Reading
September 13, 2018
ELLE: The Major Reason to Stop Brett Kavanaugh That People Aren't Talking About
There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh is hostile to health care for millions, thinks Presidents like Trump are above the law, and has given every indication that he will overturn Roe v. Wade. But there’s another big reason: Judge Kavanaugh thinks the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional. Ten years ago, the American economy fell off a cliff and millions of people lost their … Continue Reading
August 15, 2018
Wall Street Journal: Companies Shouldn't Be Accountable Only to Shareholders
Corporate profits are booming, but average wages haven't budged over the past year. The U.S. economy has run this way for decades, partly because of a fundamental change in business practices dating back to the 1980s. On Wednesday I'm introducing legislation to fix it. American corporations exist only because the American people grant them charters. Those charters confer valuable privileges-such as limited legal liability for their owners-that enable businesses to turn a profit. What … Continue Reading
August 03, 2018
Bloomberg: Worried About Wall Street Conflicts? The SEC Isn’t
Your lawyer can’t take money from your opponent to give you bad legal advice. If you’re on Medicare, your doctor can’t take kickbacks from drug manufacturers for prescribing their drugs. But, under current law, your broker-dealer can receive monetary rewards and other perks for recommending certain investment products, even if those products aren’t in your best interest.Each year, Americans lose billions of dollars because of brokers who are looking out for their own financial interests … Continue Reading
