Newsletter: Moulton Minutes: August Edition

Dear Friend,

As August wraps up, I wanted to share a few things my team and I have been working on both in Washington and back home in Massachusetts.

A lot of this work comes back to one thing: making Massachusetts more affordable. That means lowering costs, shortening time spent on  commutes, and making it easier for people to build a life here.

Holding ICE accountable

Back home, I made my third unannounced oversight visit to the ICE facility in Burlington. Unfortunately, the basic problems still remain.

I was kept waiting for more than 30 minutes before being allowed inside, while my team watched several vans leave the property. What I saw once I was allowed inside the facility reinforced what I’ve said since my first visit in 2019: this is no place for human habitation.

Enforcing our immigration laws should never come at the cost of due process and basic human dignity. People in government custody need access to their families and lawyers, and I’ll keep pressing ICE until they finally improve the poor conditions at Burlington. 

Standing up for veterans

Congresswoman Houlahan and I sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins demanding that the VA restore dedicated LGBTQIA+ veteran care infrastructure. An estimated one million LGBTQIA+ Americans have served or are serving in our military, many during periods when they faced discrimination simply for who they are. Stripping away these dedicated roles and support networks creates confusion, fosters fear of discrimination, and risks driving vulnerable veterans away from critical medical and mental health services.

They kept their promise to our country. We need to keep ours to them. And that’s why we are taking action.

That same commitment to our veterans brought me back to Home Base in Charlestown, where I toured their National Center of Excellence and saw firsthand the innovative mental health care they provide to veterans, service members, and military families. Home Base is doing extraordinary work filling gaps in care, from treating PTSD to supporting military families, often when the traditional system falls short. I’m proud to work alongside them as we push for better mental health care and make sure every veteran can get the support they’ve earned.

Making our streets safer

I reintroduced my Building Safer Streets Act to update the outdated federal standards that help determine how our roads are designed. For too long, we’ve built streets around moving cars quickly instead of getting everyone home safely.

This legislation was inspired by Sidney Mae Olson, a five-year-old from Andover who was killed by a tractor-trailer in 2023 while crossing with the walk signal. Sidney’s parents have turned an unimaginable loss into a campaign to make our streets safer for other families, and I’m proud to work alongside them in this effort..

More than 100 Americans die in traffic crashes every day. We can and should design our streets to be safer and smarter, and this legislation will help accomplish that.

No one should be able to profit from classified information

This month I also introduced bipartisan legislation, No Insider Trading on National Security Act of 2026 with Representatives George Whitesides and Don Bacon to investigate potential insider trading tied to national security information.

Prediction markets have created a troubling new opportunity for people with sensitive information inside our government to make money betting on military operations. Our bill directs the Defense Department Inspector General to investigate trading surrounding Operation Epic Fury and recommend safeguards to prevent abuse in the future.

It’s time to build the North South Rail Link

Finally, we got some exciting news about a project I’ve been fighting for for years.

A new Harvard Kennedy School analysis found that a fully-built North South Rail Link could generate an estimated $38 billion in benefits for Massachusetts. The idea is pretty simple: connect North Station and South Station so our commuter rail system finally functions as one network.

The study found the project would lead to faster commutes, dramatically shorter waits for trains, access to tens of thousands more jobs, and new housing opportunities.

For decades, people have treated the North South Rail Link as a nice idea for some distant future. We now have strong evidence that it’s an economic investment Massachusetts needs today.

Celebrating Seniors

My team was honored to join the Beverly Council on Aging and the City of Beverly for this year’s Senior Day in the Park. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with seniors and celebrate this year’s Senior of the Year, Ms. Gail Dionne.

My team celebrated this year’s Salem Senior Day with the City of Salem’s Council on Aging! We were proud to recognize Martha Bagby, Luisa Espinal, and Elwena Tungol for their important contributions in our community. Salem is stronger for their kindness and generosity, and we were grateful for the opportunity to honor them. 

There’s more work ahead here though. Massachusetts is still too expensive, and too many families are feeling squeezed financially. I’ll keep fighting for practical solutions that lower costs and make life a little easier for everyone.

Thank you, as always, for the privilege of representing you.