Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey to Congress: Pass the border deal

Monday, February 5, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Healey to Congress: Pass the border deal

BORDERING ON A DEAL — Gov. Maura Healey is pressing Congress to put aside its partisan posturing and pass the sweeping border deal a bipartisan group of senators put on the table Sunday night that would tighten the nation’s immigration policies and potentially funnel more federal aid to Massachusetts.

The $118 billion agreement includes significant changes to border policy that would make it more difficult to claim asylum and mandate a border shutdown if border encounters average more than 5,000 per day over seven days.

It would also make it easier for migrants seeking asylum to get work permits. And it includes the $1.4 billion for local governments and nonprofits sheltering migrants that Healey has for months urged Congress to pass.

“This bipartisan national security bill would make critical progress toward fixing our broken federal immigration system. It will strengthen our border security, expedite work permits, make the asylum process more fair and efficient, and more,” Healey said in a statement. “It’s time to put politics aside — Congress should pass this bill without delay.”

The deal, which also includes billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, faces its first test on Wednesday, when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to put the package up for a procedural vote.

President Joe Biden is urging Congress to pass it. But it’s unclear if the bill has the votes to clear the Senate. Spokespeople for Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said Sunday night that the Democratic senators were still reviewing the bill.

And it’s “dead on arrival” in the House , according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is instead pushing a standalone Israel aid bill. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who controls which bills hit the House floor, said Sunday night in a post on X that the bipartisan Senate deal “will NOT receive a vote” in that chamber.

But Rep. Jake Auchincloss said it would be “unconscionable” for Johnson to not bring the bill forward if it passes the Senate.

“We are going to have to decide in Congress whether in an election year it’s about performance or it’s about policy, and I’m here for policy,” Auchincloss said on CNN Sunday night. While he hadn’t yet read the full bill — it had come out just an hour earlier — Auchincloss called it the type of “good-faith, bipartisan compromise that I can support.”

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The border deal dropped three hours after more than a dozen Republican governors, including New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu, appeared with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to press Biden and Congress to crack down on border crossings . They gathered in Eagle Pass, Texas, at the park that has become the front line of the immigration showdown between Abbott and the federal government.

TODAY — Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attend a Literacy Launch event at 1:30 p.m. at Randolph’s Young Elementary School, meet with Fall River school leaders at 4 p.m. at Durfee High and tout child care investments in their budget proposal at 4:30 p.m. at the Fall River Boys and Girls Club.

Tips? Scoops? Thoughts on the border deal? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com .

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

BIG WEEK FOR BILLS — Joint committees have until Wednesday to report out their bills (or ask for extensions). But we're getting an early look at where top Democrats stand on two of this session's buzzier proposals.

— LET THE SUN SHINE: State Sen. Jamie Eldridge already has a favorable report in hand for his “Sunlight Act” that aims to increase the Legislature's transparency by requiring one-week notice for legislative hearings, making written testimony to committees public and posting all recorded committee votes online. It would also subject the governor’s office to the state’s public records law, retroactive to when Gov. Maura Healey took office.

But the bill that’s moved on to the Senate Ways and Means Committee won’t see daylight again this session without buy-in from the Senate’s top Democrats. Assistant Majority Leader Joan Lovely signed off on the bill as co-chair of the Joint Committee on Rules.

What about Senate President Karen Spilka? “I’m a firm believer in transparency. The state Senate rules incorporate all of those pieces — not about the governor because we don’t have control [over that], but in terms of more notice for hearings, putting our votes on the website,” she said on NBC10’s “At Issue.”

Eldridge told Playbook he “appreciate[s]” Spilka’s “leadership” on transparency in the Senate, even though she didn’t commit to supporting his bill. He also acknowledged the “challenge” the legislation faces given that the House and Senate have been unable to agree on the rules governing joint committees for years.

— LEGALIZING TEACHER STRIKES: Newton teachers’ decision to walk off the job for two weeks won them a 12.6 percent cost-of-living increase over four years, better working conditions and benefits like extended parental leave. But it doesn’t appear to have engendered more support from Beacon Hill leaders for legislation that would legalize teacher strikes. In fact, it may have had the opposite effect.

“It really does beg a question to us: How do we work collaboratively with our community leaders, with our union officials, to try and understand what can we do to prevent that from happening?” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said on WCVB’s “On the Record” Sunday when asked about the Newton strike. “We’ve got to put ourselves in a position to try and do all that we can to prevent strikes from happening and keep kids in classrooms.”

Beacon Hill’s Big Three have already gone on record against authorizing teacher strikes. But Driscoll’s doubling down reinforces the administration’s stance as teachers keep hitting the picket lines in different school districts.

We’re on track to find out the bill’s fate — for this session, at least — in the next few days. State Sen. Patricia Jehlen , who co-chairs the Joint Labor and Workforce Committee, said the panel is in the midst of polling that bill and others ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.

RELATED — “The teachers strike is over, but more fights are on the horizon,” by Deanna Pan, Mandy McLaren and Christopher Huffaker, The Boston Globe: “[T]here’s a mismatch between what communities claim they want and what they’re willing to pay for. Moreover, municipalities are hamstrung by state law that limits their ability to raise taxes to meet teachers’ demands. It’s a recipe that portends more strikes in districts where contract negotiations are stalling.”

But Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page told WCVB that teacher strikes won’t become the norm .

Students are heading back to school in Newton today after striking teachers reached a contract deal with school officials. | Steven Senne,/AP

— “‘Outrageous.’ Healey wants to let police training chief earn $150,000 salary while drawing taxpayer-funded pension,” by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey is seeking to allow the retired police chief who heads Massachusetts’ police training agency to take home both his $150,000-a-year salary and a municipal pension, a move that a state watchdog called an extraordinary exception to the rules governing public retirees.”

— “Fed-up and furious: Gov urged to put State Police into receivership,” by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald.

— “Massachusetts town 'will lose money' if it doesn't comply with MBTA Communities Law, Lt. Gov. says,” by Russ Reed, WCVB.

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

RECONSTRUCTING THE TIMELINE — WBUR’s Paula Moura and Beth Healy report on just how rapidly the state decided to open an overflow shelter site at the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury. State and city officials began searching for temporary shelter sites on Jan. 18 and opened the Cass to migrant and homeless families on Jan. 31.

FROM THE HUB

— “Keller @ Large: Councilman Ed Flynn shares his concerns about Boston's public health and safety,” by Jon Keller, WBZ: “[Flynn] said he believes communities of color have legitimate concerns about the government addressing their needs.”

FROM THE 413

— “‘Should have been yes’: Holyoke mayor pushes back on state’s receivership of schools,” by Dave Canton, Springfield Republican: “Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia came out swinging Saturday after state Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey C. Riley refused to end the receivership of Holyoke’s public school system. … Garcia said he received two phone calls, one from Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler promising corrective action to provide the city with concrete steps it needs to take to throw off state control of schools. Then Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll called Garcia’s office offering to intercede on the city’s behalf, he said.”

PAC IT UP — Super PACs played in municipal races across the state last year, and Matt Szafranski of Western Mass. Politics & Insight has the latest on Hispanic Latino Leaders Now PAC’s 2023 spending.

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WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING

— “‘It’s inexcusable’: As overdose deaths mount, millions in opioid settlement funds go unspent in Massachusetts,” by Chris Serres, The Boston Globe: “Less than 5 percent of the $50 million that Massachusetts communities received from the opioid settlements so far has been spent on addiction-related services and overdose prevention efforts, according to a Globe analysis of municipal spending reports.”

— “Hateful flyers mailed to Worcester officials, city councilor says,” by Susannah Sudborough, MassLive: “Antisemitic and anti-trans flyers were mailed to several Worcester officials last week following a transphobic outburst during a Worcester City Council meeting late last month, according to Worcester City Councilor-At-Large Thu Nguyen.”

— “Two business leaders joining Harvard’s powerful oversight board, school says,” by Mike Damiano and Hilary Burns, The Boston Globe: " The board tapped Kenneth Frazier, a former chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Merck, and Joseph Bae, co-CEO of KKR, one of the world’s biggest investment firms, bringing in two leaders with management experience at the highest levels of American business. … The board holds primary responsibility for selecting Harvard’s next president, following former president Claudine Gay’s Jan. 2 resignation.”

— “Property records shine light on Steward finances,” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald: “Property records show Steward Health Care hospitals in Boston have numerous outstanding liens for nearly $4 million of debt to various contractors. Steward Health Care system, the largest private for-profit healthcare network in the country, teetered along a financial cliff threatening at least four Massachusetts hospitals, but announced it had secured funding to keep all open on Friday.”

— “Man extradited from Sweden in connection to 2019 fires at Jewish institutions in Boston suburbs,” by Molly Farrar, Boston.com.

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

MAYBE NOT TAKEN FOR GRANITE — New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary may count after all. Jim Clyburn , the venerable South Carolina representative and key ally of Joe Biden , celebrated the president winning the Palmetto State’s Democratic primary on Saturday by calling on the Democratic National Committee to find a way to seat New Hampshire’s delegates at this summer’s convention. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison , who was standing beside Clyburn when he said it, didn’t shut the door to the idea.

New Hampshire Democrats are thrilled. Kathy Sullivan , a longtime state Democratic operative who helmed a super PAC that aided the Biden write-in effort there, predicted that Clyburn’s support “will carry a lot of weight with the DNC.” It certainly helps that Biden won New Hampshire’s unsanctioned primary by a wide margin. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws committee has yet to decide whether or how to sanction New Hampshire for breaking with its preferred nominating calendar for this cycle.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

HE’S ONTO…? — Ex-Patriots coach Bill Belichick took out a full-page ad in The Boston Globe thanking fans.

‘UNDERESTIMATE BAHSTIN, AT YAH PERIL’ — Ben Affleck ’s new Dunkin’ commercial is here.

IT’S GIVING SPRING — Ms. G , the state’s official groundhog, predicted an early spring with the help of some kids.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Rep. John Businger , former Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, Trevor Kincaid and Matt Bonaccorsi , comms director for Rep. Jim McGovern.

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