Newsletter: 119th Congress Swearing-in Day

January 3, 2025

Dear friends and neighbors,

I hope you were able to spend a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones. Our break between averting a last-minute government shutdown and being back in Washington yesterday for swearing in felt brief, but spending a few days home in snowy New England was a treat!

On Friday, I took the oath of office to serve as your representative in the 119th Congress.

It’s a privilege to serve the thirty-nine cities and towns I represent in Massachusetts, a privilege I will never take for granted.

I remain more committed than ever to this job—not in spite of the dysfunction, but because of it. Now is the time to fight back and stand up for our principles, but also to seek compromise in the name of progress and when necessary to stop extremism.

My team and I certainly don't let the dysfunction in DC stop us from delivering for the 6th District. My team has returned over $26 million directly to constituents like you. In 2024 alone, we fielded over 46,000 calls and responded to 50,000+ emails. We successfully resolved over 1,700 constituent requests for assistance, including almost 500 immigration and passport-related cases, and almost 300 cases related to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare issues.

I'm pleased to share some additional 2024 highlights below, and I look forward to continuing this work. Stay tuned later this month for more information on how my office can help you in 2025.

All the best,

Seth

Delivering for the 6th District:

Delivered $15 million for 15 local community improvement projects (CPFs) for fiscal year 2024 (passed into law in March), and secured $14.3 million for 15 additional CPF projects in the fiscal year 2025 federal budget bills.
Celebrated groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings, and grand openings for projects made possible by federal funding we secured, including: the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield’s expansion, Middleton’s new municipal complex, LEO, Inc.’s renovation, 2Life’s expansion, and many others.
Hosted my 2nd annual Constituent Services Fair, which convened representatives from 25+ federal and state government agencies and local nonprofits to assist constituents. We also hosted an Immigration Legal Clinic, Passport Fair, and Student Loan Debt Clinic in 2024.
Hosted my 10th annual Vets Town Hall in Marblehead where local veterans shared their stories of service with the community.
Engaged with students across the North Shore and Merrimack Valley through the Congressional App Challenge, Congressional Art Competition, and Military Academy nomination process. We also completed another session of the Congressional Youth Council, which provides high school students in our community with the chance to have their voices heard on public policy and develop the skills to address the critical issues facing our country.

Legislative Highlights:

Participated in more than 120 hearings and briefings as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Introduced the landmark GI Bill Restoration Act, which would correct a generations’ old injustice by restoring GI Bill benefits to black World War II veterans and their living descendants.
Helped pass the Social Security Fairness Act into law after many years of advocacy. This bipartisan legislation repeals two provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for certain public workers who also receive pension income. The law now paves the way for nearly 3 million public workers to increase thei Social Security benefits.
Joined the Pro-Choice Caucus in submitting two amicus briefs to the Supreme Court arguing in favor of reproductive rights. I also joined Democrats to demand movement on reproductive freedom bills by signing three petitions that would force votes on bills that would codify abortion rights and protect access to contraception and IVF.
Pushed the IRS to expand, improve, and make Direct File permanent.
Joined congressional colleagues to urge the FTC to investigate whether major grocery chains have engaged in predatory pricing nationwide. A federal judge ultimately blocked an attempted Kroger-Albertsons grocery store merger.
Secured $20 million for Massachusetts from FEMA’s Shelter and Services program and $450 million in Climate Pollution Reduction Grant for the New England Heat Pump Accelerator.

Modernizing Transportation:

Introduced the American High Speed Rail Act, which would invest more than $200 billion in high-speed rail, create at least 2.6 million direct American jobs over five years, and provide Americans with a new travel option that’s faster and safer than driving, cleaner than flying, and rarely delayed by weather.
Commissioned and released a Rail Link Study, in partnership with the Harvard Kennedy School, which shows that running all trains, that currently terminate at either North or South Stations, straight through the city (the “Rail Link”) will create an estimated $30 billion in benefits for the Commonwealth and solve our affordable housing crisis. It makes it faster than driving to get around MA. That's a return on investment of more than three times the cost of the project itself!
Introduced the Building Safer Streets Act, which would reduce tragic and avoidable on-street traffic accidents by encouraging cities and towns to build safer pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

Improving Mental Health Care:

Celebrated the 2 year anniversary of the 988 Mental Health Lifeline after writing the bill to create the lifeline in 2019. 988 has fielded over 13 million calls, texts, and chats since its launch.
Led efforts to fund and improve 988 services, including:
- Securing over $500 million in general funding for 988 maintenance and operations, and over $300 million for the Veterans Crisis Line
- Improving call routing so that callers are connected to centers who can provide nearby resources and services (known as georouting).
Fought to protect children’s mental health, especially when it comes to kids and social media. Sponsored the Kid’s Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), and held the major tech companies accountable when it comes to the spread of deepfake pornography.

Strengthening National Security:

Played an integral role in crafting the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which included a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members and improvements in quality of life issues such as housing, health care, childcare, and spousal support for service members and military families.
Remained engaged and outspoken about the Israel-Hamas conflict, and met directly with Israeli leadership – including Prime Minister Netanyahu – to push for a realistic resolution to this conflict.
Co-led the China Committee's effort to force Beijing-based ByteDance to divest from TikTok, which would make it a much safer platform for American users.
Held Lockheed Martin accountable for years of budget overruns and missed deadlines on its F-35 fighter jet program.