N.E. just got a lot more clout on Capitol Hill

Jim Brett, president and CEO of the New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com), says that New England’s congressional clout just got a big boost because Democrats won the House in the mid-terms.

“I would say, today, that our region, our New England congressional delegation is a powerhouse in the new 116th Congress,” Mr. Brett recently told a group in Ipswich.

In New England, all 21 House seats will now be held by Democrats, with the defeat of a Republican in Maine’s Second Congressional District. To read more, including about individual New England congressional movers and shakers, please hit this link.

New England Council's tax-reform principles

This from The New England Council:

"As our leaders in Congress consider reforms to our nation’s outdated and complicated tax code, The New England Council today released its “Principles for Effective Tax Reform,” a set of broad recommendations for how best to update and improve the federal tax code.  The principles were developed based on input and feedback from a variety of NEC members representing a broad range of industries throughout the region.''

Hit this link to read the NEC's principles for effective tax reform.

“We believe that these principles represent the common concerns and recommendations of the region’s business community, and hope that they are helpful to leaders in Washington as tax reform proposals continue to take shape in the coming weeks and months,” NEC President & CEO Jim Brett said in releasing the principles.

''In the principles, the Council encourages a comprehensive approach to tax reform that addresses both business and individual tax provisions at the same time.  The Council also recommends that the tax code be simplified to minimize the burden on businesses, and that all provisions be permanent to provide certainty to businesses.  Finally, the Council urges Congress to preserve and enhance incentives for Americans to save and invest in their futures, and to enact tax reform that will continue to encourage the innovation and investment that is so key to continued growth in New England.  The New England Council has shared these principles with members of the New England Congressional delegation, other key Congressional leaders, and with the Trump Administration.''

"If you have any questions, please contact Chris Averill at caverill@newenglandcouncil.com or (202) 547-0048.''

Promoting New England in the Trump era

WGBH ran a nice story by David S. Bernstein, about Jim Brett, the president of the New England Council, which is mostly a lobbying organization, and his efforts to promote New England in general and its businesses in particular in the Trump era.

Among Mr. Bernstein's observations:

"{Mr. Brett,} former state representative and Boston mayoral candidate, who has led the regional business advocacy group for two decades ... {acknowledges} that Massachusetts, and the other New England states, no longer hold the kind of sway they did in the days when {U.S. House} Speaker {Tip} O’Neill, {Sen.} Ted Kennedy, {Congressman} Joe Moakley, and other giants pulled strings in the halls of the Capitol.''

"Brett points to {Massachusetts Congressman Richard} Neal as an example of regional influence, using long-developed bipartisan relationships to help craft the tax reform bill. Neal has also used his position as longest-serving New England House member to bring the region’s members together, increasing their influence as a group, Brett says. He also singles out Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Congressmen Jim Himes of Connecticut, Peter Welch of Vermont, and Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts for their effectiveness across party lines.''

"Brett effuses about Susan Collins, the moderate Republican Senator from Maine, who he says will be a key player in health care reform. Collins spoke at NEC’s reception, where the buzz was about her rumored plans to run for Governor. 'I told her, I hope you stay in the U.S. Senate, because we need you there,' Brett says.''

''For evidence of results, he points to a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the omnibus funding bill passed this month—a huge boon for New England, whose universities and hospitals take a disproportionate share of NIH grants. The Trump administration had wanted to cut the NIH budget.''

“'An awful lot of people in the (New England) delegation had their fingers in that,' Brett says.''

To read/hear the whole piece please hit this link.

Storm modeling for New England

Hurricane Bob approaching New England on Aug. 19, 1991.

From the blog of our friend Jim Brett, president of the New England Council (NEC):

"NEC member Eversource recently announced it will add Plymouth (N.H.) State University to its partnership with the University of Connecticut to improve the predictive weather modeling systems development at the Eversource Energy Center at UConn.

"Eversource will work with the two universities to develop storm modeling and damage forecasting systems designed for the New England climate. The systems will complement the Eversource Energy Center at UConn’s current power outage prediction modeling system and allow utility companies to distribute resources appropriately across the country and region in preparation to damages to an electric grid from storms.

“We are trying to improve the reliability and resilience of the entire electric grid, basically for New England. We’re trying to predict in advance what a particular weather pattern is going to do to our electric grid and the impact it will all have on our customers,” said Bill Quinlan, Eversource’s President of Operations in New Hampshire.

"The New England Council congratulates Eversource on the new collaboration that will continue to improve service to Eversource and other utility customers throughout New England.''

Brett's Boston Irish

Grab  the fabulous new coffee table book Boston Irish, with black-and-white photos by famed Boston photographer Bill Brett, text by Carol Beggy and foreward by historian David McCullough, who moved to Boston recently. I spent my boyhood in a Boston suburb, Cohasset, and worked for the old Boston Herald Traveler, whence I was sent all over the city. The words, and especially the pictures of the faces,  in this book, brought back many memories.

Thanks, my friend Jim Brett, who runs the New England Council, for sending a copy to me. Now I have to get that long-promised tour by Bill of the Hub, whose manmade aspects have been changed  in some neighborhoods almost beyond my recognition from 45 years ago.

-- Robert Whitcomb