Op-Eds
TIME Op-Ed: How 988 Will Transform America's Approach to Mental Health
America is about to take a big step toward better health care. Beginning on July 16th, anyone in America, anywhere in America, can dial just three digits–988–to get free, confidential, and immediate help for a mental health emergency. Now the two of us might make an odd pair teaming up to talk about mental health: One of us is a leading mental health advocate—an unexpected career, but one he discovered through a commitment to service that helped him heal from the trauma he … Continue Reading
June 01, 2022
Op-Ed: Send In the Marines for a Modernization
"On paper the Russians have every advantage. A million more soldiers in uniform, more than 10 times the military budget, 10 times the aircraft, six times the tanks. But a much smaller Ukrainian force resolutely repelled Russia’s attack on and around Kyiv and it continues to stymie Russian forces with small infantry units equipped with modern weapons, the latest training, the best intelligence and the courage of troops fighting for freedom. Most commentators have been … Continue Reading
August 09, 2020
The Question We Should Be Asking About School Reopening
Everyone is asking me the same question: Should schools reopen? Actually, the data on this is pretty clear: Yes, kids across the board do better in school. But the question we really should be asking is this: What will we do when one kid in school -even just one - tests positive? Nobody seems to have an answer. It's the age-old adage attributed to the great World War II general Omar Bradley: "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics." Getting kids in school may be the right … Continue Reading
May 06, 2020
To win this war, we must listen to science
Over the last week, a debate about when to reopen our country has begun in earnest. If we reopen too soon, we'll lose the progress we've gained by social distancing, see a new spike in cases that overwhelms our hospital system, and inject even more uncertainty into an economy that's buckling under the weight of the worst pandemic in a century. If we wait too long, we'll cause more economic harm than necessary to combat the virus and more Americans will die from that fallout as well; death … Continue Reading
April 21, 2020
Even without our leaders, Americans can lead on coronavirus
When our leaders have failed in crises, America has been at its best when we focus on what we can do rather than who we can blame. As we entered World War II, the Greatest Generation didn't argue over whose fault it was that the military only had 3,000 planes -- they built 300,000 more. When the Bush administration bungled its response to Hurricane Katrina, millions stepped up to become unofficial first responders, food suppliers -- even caretakers for children separated from their … Continue Reading
March 16, 2020
What Our Federal Government Should Be Saying And Doing About COVID-19
In times of crisis, leaders must communicate honestly, prepare aggressively, act decisively and ensure results. Leaders who do this will dispel uncertainty and fear. They will inspire trust and confidence. What doesn't work, is telling people over and over again to be confident while communicating dishonestly, failing to prepare, delaying action and taking zero responsibility for results. This is what our federal government should be saying and doing in the face of COVID-19. Communicate … Continue Reading
February 27, 2020
We Need to Defend America's Research and Science From Foreign Spying
As a Harvard physics student, I got to learn from some of the smartest minds on earth. My professors were also good people, and the department has a proud history both of great discovery and great service. Harvard physicists helped America win World War II, and then establish the ethical code around nuclear physics that helped keep the peace in the Cold War to follow. Coming from that proud tradition, I was floored to learn that the head of Harvard's chemistry department was getting paid … Continue Reading
December 02, 2019
Our Troops Deserve Better Than Trump's Pardons
In Iraq, I learned there are two types of courage: physical courage and moral courage. Moral courage was often the hardest to find. The ability for our service members to summon moral courage when it counts is why most of the world sees America as the good guys. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has pardoned men who have failed to live up to the standards to which we hold our service members. He has pardoned men who have been convicted of posing with enemy corpses, failing to render … Continue Reading
December 01, 2019
Why Supervised Drug Injection Sites Make Sense
SINCE 2000, 17,496 citizens of Massachusetts have died from an opioid overdose. Half of those deaths came in the last five years. That's like one of at least 245 communities in the Commonwealth disappearing in 19 years. Enough people in Massachusetts have died from an opioid overdose to fill all but 69 of the seats at the TD Garden for a Bruins game. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control estimates 700,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose death in the years spanning 1993-2017. … Continue Reading
November 07, 2019
Political Mudslinging—the Good Kind
November 7, 2019 Originally published in the Gloucester Daily Times. Today, federal, state and local elected officials representing Gloucester will come together to celebrate the Annisquam River dredging project, which is finally moving forward. This might not seem like the biggest news of the week: The Patriots lost their first game since December 2018; we just had local elections; Washington is debating impeachment... And the Army Corps of Engineers will soon be moving mud in the … Continue Reading
October 09, 2019
Trump's Message To The World: America's Words and Values are Worthless
"We've got your back." These are words every American veteran knows. We say that to each other, and we say it to our allies. President Trump only says it to our enemies. Trump said he "fell in love" with Kim Jung Un, curtailing our military exercises and repeatedly handing him propaganda victories, for almost nothing in return. Trump had Vladimir Putin's back in Helsinki when he said he believed Putin over our intelligence community. And now we've learned that he withheld military aid to … Continue Reading
August 22, 2019
Let's Dial 988 to Stop Suicides
Originally published by The Washington Post. By Chris Stewart and Seth Moulton Chris Stewart, a Republican, represents Utah in the U.S. House of Representatives. Seth Moulton, a Democrat, represents Massachusetts in the House. Nearly 1 in 5 American adults live with a mental-health condition; nearly half of those afflicted report having an unmet need for services. The suicide rate is increasing, too. In 2014, about 10 million Americans seriously considered suicide, and more than 1 million … Continue Reading
July 09, 2019
Moulton & Trahan: Congress Must Address Combined Sewer Overflow
Originally Published in Wicked Local — Salem. Written by Rep. Moulton and Rep. Lori Trahan. Imagine you live in a community where everything that goes down your toilet, and everything in the gutters on the street outside, flowed into the bodies of water that supply your drinking water. You’d probably want your government to do something about that, and you’d definitely want to know about it. In our state, any time we get a hard rain or heavy snow melt, 200 pipes in 18 cities carry … Continue Reading
May 24, 2019
A Day of Reflection
Originally published by The Salem News. There was a time when many Americans approached Memorial Day weekend with some degree of dread, knowing it would bring back painful memories of loved ones lost. Today, most of us look forward to this long weekend with excitement — we celebrate the unofficial start of summer. But, among the small and decreasing percentage of Americans who serve, depression and anxiety often increase this weekend. Memorial Day is when Americans are supposed to evaluate … Continue Reading
May 17, 2019
Let's Talk About Cannabis and the VA
Originally published in the Washington Examiner. Let’s stop kidding ourselves: Americans are using cannabis, and many of them are veterans. According to the American Legion, more than 1 in 5 veterans currently use cannabis. A vast majority of veteran households (93%) support medical cannabis research, and a large majority want the government to offer it as federally legal medical treatment. I don’t need a study to tell me that. I often hear about this from the Marines I served with and who … Continue Reading
May 13, 2019
China promised to stop fentanyl traffickers, Congress must hold them to it
Originally published by The Hill. The opioid epidemic is ravaging American communities. Fentanyl and other opioids are killing 50,000 Americans every year, making this public health epidemic more lethal than car crashes and HIV at their peaks. The spike in overdose deaths is so severe that for the first time since the Second World War, Americans have seen their life expectancy decline for three consecutive years. In another grim sign of the times, the number of people in line for organ … Continue Reading
May 12, 2019
We can still save the North Atlantic right whale
Originally published by CommonWealth Magazine. Seismic testing is the latest threat to endangered species. NOW MAY BE our last chance to save the North Atlantic right whale from extinction. The North Atlantic right whale population once dominated the Atlantic Ocean with numbers likely in the tens of thousands, but today, only about 400 remain. In the 1700s, whalers prized these marine mammals for their fatty blubber, making them the “right whale” to harvest for oil and baleen. By the time … Continue Reading
March 19, 2019
Congress should step up for Gloucester's young fishermen
Originally published by The Gloucester Daily Times. Vito Giacalone’s family has been doing this for a long time. His grandpa was a fisherman, first in Sicily and then in Gloucester. His dad was a fisherman right out of high school. His seven uncles all fished, too. They all told Vito the stories of their trade — that Gloucester fishermen are the best around, make their own nets, and fish in any weather. Vito was hooked. He got into the fishing industry as soon as he could, and so did his … Continue Reading
January 16, 2018
Moulton, Massachusetts Delegation Return from Oversight Trip to Puerto Rico
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA), and other members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, traveled to Puerto Rico to conduct oversight of Hurricane Maria recovery efforts. Moulton and the delegation surveyed the damage from Hurricane Maria, assessed the work and resources necessary to help the island fully recover, and spoke with residents and government officials about how best to support the people of Puerto Rico. Moulton journaled his experience in a Medium post, … Continue Reading
June 13, 2017
VIDEO – Moulton: “We in Congress are going to fight for what’s right”
Washington, D.C. - Upon returning from an Armed Services Committee Congressional delegation to Southeast Asia, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) sat down to discuss his experience for a NowThis Op-ed. In his interview, Moulton talked about the national security threat climate change poses and the obligation Congress has to hold the administration accountable and defend American values. Watch: https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/1589910621040422/ Key Point: “But one of the things we … Continue Reading