Gov. Healey and Rep. Auchincloss address Charles River Regional Chamber

The Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce concluded Women’s History Month on March 31 with guest speaker Governor Maura Healey, and Congressman Jake Auchincloss was a late addition to the much anticipated program. A lively audience of 259 business leaders and elected officials from Needham, Newton, Watertown, and Wellesley filled the Marriott Hotel ballroom to hear the two address a range of issues including housing, health care, transportation, tariffs, and current political tensions. Greg Reibman, Chamber president, moderated the event.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss

Striking a frequent Chamber theme, Rep. Auchincloss began his remarks by telling the audience “the single biggest economic challenge facing the Commonwealth has been and is the high cost of housing.” He acknowledged that employees – especially younger people – cannot afford to live here because of the cost. He promised to continue to focus on “unlocking more housing production” as a way of advancing priorities. In response to an audience question about how to generate more housing, he said government was good “at subsidizing the demand for housing. We’re less good at subsidizing the supply of housing.” Among the possibilities, he mentioned the Commonwealth’s Momentum Fund providing low- or no-interest loans to developers for construction of affordable housing. In addition, he cited the possibility of using unused prisons and military property for affordable housing production. Acknowledging that an unpopular option (“the third rail that’s struck by lightning”) is raising the 40B threshold for local housing development. Rep. Auchincloss suggested that technology would help reduce the cost of development by mass producing elements of housing, as is done in Sweden.

Another of the Congressman’s ongoing targets is the high cost of health care. “If I ask you to raise your hands right now, most employers would say that either their first, second, or third top issue is the cost of health insurance.” The problem, he said, “is the rapacious greed of the health insurance corporations.” His answer is bipartisan legislation to control the power of the Pharmacy Benefit Managers that have engaged in “price gouging and rent seeking for decades… .” (See Fig City News article.)

As to the role of Congress under Republican control, he said “We’ve got a Congress that has sidelined itself because of its Speaker. But, if we can bring public pressure to bear, we have created…what the founders referred to as “we the people. ….Really, it’s the ultimate branch of government.”

Gov. Maura Healey

Acknowledging Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, current and former members of the State Legislature, and city and town elected officials, Governor Healey thanked Chamber members “for doing business here in Massachusetts,” and she declared herself a “pro-business governor.” She said she inherited both a lack of housing and “a transportation fiasco” when she became governor, but she has set a goal of creating 200,000 new housing units in the next ten years. She noted that she hired “this guy who’s been pretty good” in dealing with public transportation (MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng). Governor Healey also praised the Chamber for its new Small Shops program giving free membership to small, independent retailers.

Making the case for Massachusetts, the Governor said that the Commonwealth ranks “number one” in education, innovation, and health care. She said that the state invests in child care and is possibly the only state to do that. Moreover, she assured the audience that Massachusetts families “get the best Child and Family Tax Credit” in the nation.

Housing is her top priority, and she expressed gratitude to the Legislature for passing a $5.2 billion housing bill. According to the Governor, Austin, Texas had built 50,000 new homes in two years, and she noted that it should not take the Commonwealth decades to build 200,000 homes. In addition, she was gratified that 119 Massachusetts communities are compliant with the MBTA Communities Law and had passed zoning changes to accommodate development.

With $9 million in federal transportation money, Massachsetts has moved from 34th to 7th in transportation, and she highlighted the accessibility upgrade to the Newtonville Commuter Rail that was part of that allocation. Included in the state’s expanding transportation options is the newly launched South Coast Rail from Boston to Fall River and New Bedford.

Turning to tariffs, Governor Healey said, “Tariffs are not a good thing for us,” considering that the lumber for needed housing comes from Canada and other housing material comes from Mexico. Tariffs will raise production costs, which will impact consumers “and they weaken our economy,” she said, adding, “I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with Canadian governors. Everyone is so worried about this, and how this is just going to wreck both our economies.”

Both she and Rep. Auchincloss shared dismay over the proposed cuts to funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Massachusetts receives the largest NIH annual grant. The Commonwealth is “so blessed” to have world-class hospitals — noting Newton Wellesley in particular – as well as the best health systems. She explained that there are people enrolled in clinical trials that are at great risk if funding is cut because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. “If you lose a month of research, that can set you back ten years. That’s happening live right now,” the Governor said. As a result of the funding cuts, Governor Healey said that China is now recruiting researchers on Massachusetts campuses.

As for the cuts to Medicaid (which serves two million Massachusetts residents, among them 700,000 children), Social Security, and the Veterans Administration, she noted that the Trump Administration is “targeting some of the most vulnerable among us.” Her response: “I think we’ve got to be really strong. …I make that comment not as a partisan comment, but I make that comment as an American and somebody who believes in a social fabric of our society and of our country.”

Q&A Sessions

After their talks, Rep. Auchincloss and Gov. Healey each sat with Mr. Reibman for brief Q&A sessions. See NewTV’s videos of:

Gov. Healey and Rep. Auchincloss address Charles River Regional Chamber

Rep. Jake Auchincloss

Gov. Maura Healey

Q&A Sessions

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