Op-eds
Boston Globe Op-Ed: How to level the playing field for working families
I GRADUATED FROM law school nine months pregnant with my second baby - and 100 percent unemployable. In 1976, no law firm was going to offer a job to a woman in my "condition," and even if it did, it was perfectly legal to fire me for taking time off when my son was born. Then things began to change. Twenty-three years ago this month, the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, was signed into law. Today, most American workers can take unpaid time off to care for a family member or … Continue Reading
January 29, 2016
New York Times Op-Ed: One Way to Rebuild Our Institutions
WASHINGTON - WHILE presidential candidates from both parties feverishly pitch their legislative agendas, voters should also consider what presidents can do without Congress. Agency rules, executive actions and decisions about how vigorously to enforce certain laws will have an impact on every American, without a single new bill introduced in Congress. The Obama administration has a substantial track record on agency rules and executive actions. It has used these tools to protect retirement … Continue Reading
January 08, 2016
Worcester Telegram & Gazette Op-Ed: Learning to cut child poverty
Last month, Congress took a step to help millions of children escape poverty. Across the country, roughly sixteen million children live in poverty, including more than half the children in public schools. In Massachusetts, 208,000 children live below the poverty line. Poverty is hard on children. Poor children are more likely to have low birth weights, more trouble learning to read, and more problems getting along in school. These early disadvantages never go away. As adults, children reared … Continue Reading
November 11, 2015
CNN.com Op-Ed: Give Social Security recipients a CEO-style raise
On Veterans Day we recognize and honor the sacrifices our service members and their families make for our country. We owe our service members the very best, but unless Congress acts, on January 1 more than 9 million veterans who rely on Social Security benefits or pension and compensation benefits will not get their annual cost of living increase. This freeze in funds, which has happened only two other times since 1975, will be really tough on veterans among the 71 million Americans who … Continue Reading
October 20, 2015
Huffington Post Op-Ed: The Banking Industry's Transparent Attempt to Weaken the CFPB
You'll never guess who's going around Washington, trolling the halls of Congress, talking about the importance of protecting the long-term health of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The banking industry. That's right: After years of trying to kill, then delay, and then defang the agency, the banking industry and their Republican friends in Congress have launched a new effort to attract Democratic support for their latest attack by claiming that they just want to help the agency and … Continue Reading
September 15, 2015
Credit.com Op-ed: It's Time to Stop Employer Credit Checks
Bad credit can happen for a lot of reasons, but today many people have bad credit through no fault of their own. Illness, job loss, divorce or the death of a loved one can plunge a family into unexpected hard times. In difficult circumstances like these, a drop in income or taking on more debt can badly damage a credit report-even for a person who continues to make every payment on time. For countless Americans, the fallout from the financial crisis of 2008 continues to damage their credit. … Continue Reading
September 06, 2015
Worcester Telegram & Gazette Op-ed: Making higher education affordable for all
Students all across Massachusetts are off to college. It's an exciting time, but for many families it also means confronting the exploding cost of higher education. Even adjusted for inflation, a family trying to send a son or daughter to a state school today will face tuition prices that are more than 300 percent of what mom or dad paid a generation ago. High prices are forcing more students and their parents to take on mountains of debt just to get a degree. As each family struggles to … Continue Reading
July 01, 2015
USA Today Op-Ed: Sabotage in your IRA
It's hard - really hard - to save for retirement. And the stats bear this out: Almost one-third of Americans on the edge of retirement have zero savings. Another third have saved less than one year's income. That's why it's important to protect every dollar that someone puts away for their retirement. Many Americans rely on investment advisers for guidance on how to save towards retirement, and most advisers have savers' best interests at heart. But not all advisers put their customers first … Continue Reading
June 30, 2015
TIME Op-Ed: Constitution Had Everything To Do With Gay Marriage Ruling
Our Constitution fiercely guards freedom and liberty, and strongly disapproves of state-sanctioned discrimination. The Supreme Court's recent decision in Obergefell v. Hodges recognizing a fundamental right to equal marriage for LGBT Americans sits squarely within both text and tradition. Indeed, what is truly remarkable about this case is not the outcome, but rather the people who made it possible - all of the many individuals across our nation who came forward to fight for the liberty and … Continue Reading
June 23, 2015
Boston Globe Op-Ed: Trade agreements should not benefit industry only
Recently Hillary Clinton joined Nancy Pelosi and many others in Congress to call on the president to reorient our trade policy so that it produces a good deal for all Americans - not just for a handful of big corporations. Here's a realistic starting point: Fix the way we enforce trade agreements to ensure a level playing field for everyone. Many of our close allies - major trading partners like Australia, Germany, France, India, South Africa, and Brazil - are already moving in this direction. … Continue Reading
June 05, 2015
Springfield Republican Op-Ed: Republican budget makes rich richer, hurts Massachusetts families
A budget is a building plan for the future. It's about what it takes for our families, our businesses, and our economy to thrive. What do we need? Our kids need a good, affordable education. Our workers need good wages, good benefits, and good jobs here in America, jobs built on 21st century innovation and technology. Our businesses and workers need transit, roads, and bridges that are safe enough, strong enough, and fast enough to get us to work and to keep goods and services moving. And … Continue Reading
May 11, 2015
Boston Globe Op-Ed: Who is writing the TPP?
Congress is in an intense debate over trade bills that will shape the course of the US economy for decades. Much of this debate has been characterized as a fight over whether international trade itself creates or destroys American jobs. There is, however, another major concern - that modern "trade" agreements are often less about trade and more about giant multinational corporations finding new ways to rig the economic system to benefit themselves. Hillary Clinton has said that the "United … Continue Reading
February 25, 2015
Washington Post Op-Ed: The Trans-Pacific Partnership clause everyone should oppose
The United States is in the final stages of negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive free-trade agreement with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Singapore and seven other countries. Who will benefit from the TPP? American workers? Consumers? Small businesses? Taxpayers? Or the biggest multinational corporations in the world? One strong hint is buried in the fine print of the closely guarded draft. The provision, an increasingly common feature of trade agreements, is called … Continue Reading
January 22, 2015
Washington Post Op-Ed: Supreme Court Housing Decision Could Put our Financial Well-Being at Risk
The Supreme Court appears poised to continue its systematic assault on our core civil rights laws. After gutting the Voting Rights Act just two years ago, the court set its sights on our country's fair housing laws when it heard oral arguments today in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. As with the voting rights decision, a decision limiting the scope of the housing laws would ignore the will of Congress and undermine basic principles of … Continue Reading
November 19, 2014
Huffington Post Op-Ed: Enough Is Enough: The President's Latest Wall Street Nominee
I believe President Obama deserves deference in picking his team, and I've generally tried to give him that. But enough is enough. Last Wednesday, President Obama announced his nomination of Antonio Weiss to serve as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department. This is a position that oversees Dodd-Frank implementation and a wide range of banking and economic policymaking issues, including consumer protection. So who is Antonio Weiss? He's the head of global investment … Continue Reading
November 17, 2014
Wall Street Journal Op-ed: The Fed Needs Governors Who Aren’t Wall Street Insiders
We joined the Senate Banking Committee to try to make the banking system work better for American families. That's why we're concerned that the Federal Reserve-our first line of defense against another financial crisis-seems more worried about protecting Wall Street than protecting Main Street. Fortunately, this is one problem the Obama administration can start fixing today by nominating the right people to fill the two vacancies on the Fed's Board of Governors. The Board of Governors is … Continue Reading
November 07, 2014
Washington Post Op-Ed: It’s time to work on America’s agenda
There have been terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Election Days for Democrats before - and Republicans have had a few of those, too. Such days are always followed by plenty of pronouncements about what just changed and what's going to be different going forward. But for all the talk of change in Washington and in states where one party is taking over from another, one thing has not changed: The stock market and gross domestic product keep going up, while families are getting squeezed hard … Continue Reading
August 15, 2014
Worcester Telegram & Gazette Op-Ed: Fighting for local veterans
Our men and women in uniform serve our country with honor and courage, putting themselves in harm's way to protect us. All three of my brothers served in the military, and my oldest brother was career military - he flew 288 combat missions in Vietnam. I understand how much service members and their families contribute to our country, and how important it is that we honor their service. We owe our service members the very best, and that means ensuring they always have access to high-quality … Continue Reading
August 12, 2014
Berkshire Eagle Op-Ed: We can do better than pipeline
Massachusetts has distinguished itself as a state with a strong and enduring commitment to environmental conservation, a commitment evidenced in the wetlands, forests, waters, and state and private conservation lands that run from our coastline to the Berkshires. The commonwealth is also a leader in developing clean energy and promoting energy efficiency. In fact, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks Massachusetts number one in the country in its energy efficiency … Continue Reading
July 17, 2014
CNN Op-Ed: We need to rein in 'too big to fail' banks
More than five years after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the beginning of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, lawmakers should ask themselves whether they have done enough to reduce the risk of another financial crisis. In our view, the answer is no. The chances of another financial crisis will remain unacceptably high as long as there are financial institutions that are "too big to fail" -- entities that are deemed so important to the overall health and … Continue Reading