Democrats gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives means the Massachusetts delegation is becoming one of the most powerful delegations in the nation.
A Democratic-controlled House means a major power shift in Washington, but it also gives the all-Democratic Massachusetts delegation more clout than it’s had in decades.
“Every single bill, it comes through the rules committee. We’re the traffic cop of Congress,” Massachusetts Congressmen Jim McGovern said.
McGovern and Representative Richard Neal are set to become chairmen of two of the most powerful committees in the newly Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.
“I think it puts Massachusetts as one of the most powerful delegations in the country,” McGovern said.
Neal is expected to become chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, while McGovern is expected to chair the Rules Committee, which he said helps the Commonwealth.
“It means that if bills come to the rules committee that things in it that are bad for Massachusetts, we’re going to work to remove them,” McGovern said. “If bills come to the rules committee and we can make things better for Massachusetts, we’re going to add things.”
McGovern says under the Republican-controlled House, the Rules Committee blocked everything the Democrats proposed, but he says that’s about to change.
“We’ve been unable to bring any gun-control legislation to the floor. We’ve been trying to bring a bill to lower the cost of prescription drugs to the floor. They wouldn’t let us do it. We’ve been trying to bring amendments dealing with climate change,” McGovern said.
Massachusetts Democrats will also be voting a new House Speaker. Congressman Seth Moulton has said he will vote against former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but McGovern says he will be supporting her.
“I think she’s been an effective leader,” McGovern said. “I don’t think we would’ve been competitive in this last election without her ability to raise the necessary funds to support our candidates.”
The new speaker takes over in January. We should know who that will be soon after Thanksgiving.
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