| | | | |  | | By Mia McCarthy and Kelly Garrity | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Lisa Kashinsky CASH GRAB — Now that Congress has passed the final spending bills for this fiscal year, the state’s delegation is bringing home some cash. In total, our 11-member delegation announced $213 million secured for 202 projects in the Bay State this year. The funds come from congressionally directed spending — a practice known as earmarks that allow members to fund projects in their districts in the annual federal appropriations bills (and that also has a checkered past). This round of federal dollars will go toward road reconstruction, water filtration systems, community programs and research centers across the state. With Massachusetts Democrats holding more seats at the leadership table, Playbook looked through the earmarks to see who’s bringing home what from the latest spending bills. Here are some of the priciest items that the big four — House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Reps. Richard Neal, Jim McGovern and Lori Trahan — snagged for the Bay State:
|  Rep. Jim McGovern | Francis Chung/POLITICO | McGovern, the House Rules Committee's top Democrat, takes the cake for the most dollars coming back to his district with more than $20 million total. The Worcester representative also claimed the most expensive Massachusetts project: $5 million for the MetroWest YMCA Early Learning Center. Neal, the ranking member on Ways and Means, requested $13 million to upgrade Springfield's Union Station and ended up with just over $4 million. The money will improve roads and create signs for pedestrian safety. Neal also had two requests rejected: $2 million for renovations at a Caring Health Center facility and $500,000 for the Wellness on Wheels Rural Healthcare unit. Neal’s team didn't respond to requests for comment. Trahan is bringing back $3.6 million to make accessibility changes at the Gallagher Intermodal Transportation Center after initially requesting $5 million. The funds will be used for elevator upgrades and a pedestrian bridge, among other changes. Trahan also had three requests that didn’t make the final cut: renovations for the Fitchburg library, a Haverhill sewer project and a Westminster intersection reconstruction. Trahan’s team said the intersection project was scrapped when federal lawmakers didn’t allocate enough funding to complete the project — a requirement of House rules. The Fitchburg library request was able to get local funding instead. The five rejected earmarks — two from Neal, three from Trahan — were the only Massachusetts earmarks requested in the House that did not get approved in the final slate of bills. Clark had a $5 million dollar request for the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail that connects Framingham to Lowell. She ended up getting $1.6 million for the project. Clark is also bringing home $1 million for an Asian American community center in Malden and $1.5 for Malden River Works to build a park. And, despite being in leadership, Clark secured the lowest amount from the House delegation at just under $13 million, according to a Playbook analysis. Though not by much — Neal and Trahan are bringing in similar amounts. GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The fiscal 2025 appropriations requests are already open on many members’ websites. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks at UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suarez-Orozco's inauguration at 11 a.m. at the Clark Athletic Center. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll keynotes the Massachusetts Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives annual meeting at 8:30 a.m. in Salem. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Seth Moulton tout federal funding for transportation projects at 9 a.m. in Lynn. AG Andrea Campbell opens an Addressing Hate in School Sports regional training session at noon at Endicott College. Auditor Diana DiZoglio speaks at Student Government Day at the State House at 11:45 a.m. and attends Greek Independence Day festivities at 1 p.m. in the Senate Reading Room. THE WEEKEND — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8 a.m. Sunday. Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, former state Rep. Marie St. Fleur and Carline Desire are on NBC10 Boston’s “At Issue” at 5 a.m. Sunday. Tips? Scoops? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com and mmccarthy@politico.com.
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy: With a presence in 49 states, NextEra Energy is one of the nation’s largest capital investors in infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and generating millions of dollars in new tax revenue for communities across the U.S. We generate more electricity from the wind and sun than anyone in the world as we work toward securing America’s energy independence and security with clean and emission-free low-cost energy. | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Whittier Tech may move into novel ‘shared campus model’ with local community college after failed building proposal,” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald: “After a failed vote to give Whittier Tech a new building, the Healey administration is proposing a brand new solution to give school the space and resources it needs — potentially moving it in with the local community college down the road. … The Healey-Driscoll administration laid out the 'shared campus proposal' broadly Thursday, stating their intent to begin to engage with local officials and the schools’ communities on the plans in coming weeks. The model would bring Whittier Tech together with the Haverhill campus of Northern Essex Community College (NECC), which is just a couple miles away.”
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Mold cleanup forces all families out of Catholic Charities Inn,” by Stephanie Ebbert, Deirdre Fernandes and Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe: “Catholic Charities Inn, an emergency homeless shelter in Brighton, is expected to be entirely evacuated Friday, a week after elevated levels of airborne mold prompted the state to relocate about half of the families, many of them migrants, while the motel was being cleaned. The state decided to transfer the remaining 23 families during the mold remediation to avoid any disruption the construction may cause on site, said Kevin Connor, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, which secured the former motel for homeless families.” — “Massachusetts housing department approved four no-bid contracts for migrant shelter crisis,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald.
| | | | Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | | | FROM THE HUB | | — “Stark divides heard over scale of Shattuck Hospital expansion plan during City Council hearing,” by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: “Residents living near Franklin Park remain deeply divided over an ambitious plan to redevelop Shattuck Hospital to expand treatment programs for people dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues, and provide additional supportive housing. In a marathon five-hour Boston City Council committee hearing Thursday, community members alternately aired concerns and shared support for the project, which officials last year announced would be scaled back after some park and neighborhood advocates balked at the project’s original scope.” — “Lenox Apartments, Boston’s first housing development for Black residents, receives long-awaited renovations,” by Tiana Woodard, The Boston Globe. — “Boston’s defense against rising seas leans on private development. What happens when the money dries up?” by Erin Douglas and Catherine Carlock, The Boston Globe.
| | WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET | | — “AG, industry groups spar over retail energy data,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “A report released by Attorney General Andrea Campbell said between 2015 and 2023 residential customers who purchased electricity from retail suppliers, other than regional or local utilities, paid an estimated $577 million more than they would have paid if they had kept their old service. … The industry groups argue the AG’s report ignores ‘value-added aspects’ of retail energy plans, including unlimited usage, flat-rate bills, and free products with enrollment such as electric vehicle chargers and smart home thermostats.”
| | | | A message from NextEra Energy:   | | | | | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Gov. Maura Healey raised more than $250,000 in her second local fundraiser for the Democratic Governors Association’s Women Governors Fund that she chairs, a spokesperson for her political arm said. Healey also hasn’t slowed down fundraising for herself. She and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll brought in more than $200,000 combined during their annual women’s event, held late last month. RAIN DELAY — Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s reelection kickoff was postponed thanks to Thursday’s storm. The rally is now set for 2 p.m. April 13 and will still be held at the IBEW Local 103 labor hall in Dorchester. PARTY POLITICS — Likely GOP U.S. Senate candidate Ian Cain has put up a fundraising page on Republican platform WinRed as he looks to raise $120,000 to aid his efforts to get on the ballot. But in a sign of how quickly this campaign is coming together — and of the Quincy City Council president’s shifting politics over the years — the former Democrat who spent about four years as an unenrolled voter before registering as a Republican in late February still has an active fundraising page for his council campaign committee on Democrats’ preferred platform, ActBlue. Cain responded to questions about his ActBlue page in an email saying: “We are getting everything organized to take out Elizabeth Warren. It is going to be a massive undertaking.” A review of his recent OCPF filings shows just a handful of donations to his local campaign committee over the past half year.
| | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | — “Rep. Ayanna Pressley Pushes For More Access To Diagnostic Equipment For Disabled People,” by Shruti Rajkumar, HuffPost. — “U.S. Rep. McGovern talks national issues, local effects at South County Senior Center,” by Chris Larabee, Greenfield Recorder.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | FROM THE 413 | | EARLY EXIT INTERVIEW — Western Mass Politics & Insight’s Matt Szafranski looks back at Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle’s time in office, after her announcement that she plans to forgo a reelection bid in 2025. — “Video from Russia shows U.S. man that looks like Wilmer Puello-Mota signing military contract,” by Nick DeGray, WWLP: “A video posted on Russian social media accounts Wednesday shows a United States citizen has signed a military contract to fight against Ukraine. The U.S. citizen, who goes by the name ‘Vil’ has very similar traits to former Holyoke City Councilor Wilmer Puello-Mota, who was charged with child pornography. In the video posted Wednesday by a Russian journalist account on Telegram, they claim Vil served in the United States armed forces and moved to Russia several months ago as a volunteer for the military. Vil was convinced to sign a contract with a Russian military unit.” —“Urged by vocal group of residents, Easthampton council becomes fourth in region to call for cease-fire in Gaza,” by James Pentland, Daily Hampshire Gazette.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Groton-Dunstable override defeated,” by Prudence Brighton, The Lowell Sun: “Voters in Groton and Dunstable soundly rejected a proposed Proposition 2½ tax limit override, leaving their Select Boards and the Groton-Dunstable Regional School Committee facing a hard deadline of June 30 to have new fiscal 2025 budgets approved.” — “Westport voters to decide on debt exclusion, Select Board race on April 9,” by Matthew Ferreira, The Standard-Times: “Coming up on Tuesday, April 9, Westport voters will have a contested Select Board race to decide on, as three candidates compete for two positions. Residents will also vote on a ballot question that would approve a debt exclusion needed to fund a multi-million-dollar extension of the town's water system to one of the town's most traveled stretches.” — “New Bedford makes quiet investments into school security systems,” by Colin Hogan, The New Bedford Light. — “Dighton-Rehoboth cutting 21 jobs — Superintendent sounds alarm over state aid,” by Michael J. DeCicco, Taunton Daily Gazette.
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We are also working toward securing America’s energy independence and security with clean and emission-free low-cost energy. We’ve virtually eliminated foreign oil from our power plants and, today, generate more electricity from the wind and sun than anyone in the world – while continuing lead in battery storage technology. | | | | | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Charlie Baker alum and South & Hill Strategies co-founder Lizzy Guyton, and to Aleca Hughes McPherson. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to John Lechner and Ricardo Sánchez, Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s communications director, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman, a Great Barrington native; Helice Rubin Picheny, NGP VAN’s Jeremiah Thompson and Joe Nigro. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
