Throughout 2022, The New England Council’s policy committees and cross-sector working groups continued to work with our members to advocate for federal policies that support economic growth and a high quality of life in the region. These groups also provided a forum for networking and information sharing, and hosted a variety of informative meetings and discussions with key federal policymakers and subject matter experts.
Energy & Environment Committee
- Over the course of the year, the Energy & Environment Committee hosted meetings with a variety of key policymakers who briefed our members on legislative and regulatory initiatives related to the development of renewable energy resources, as well as other efforts to ensure reliable, efficient, and affordable energy for the region’s businesses and residents. Guests at these meetings included:
- U.S. Representative Annie Kuster (D-NH), a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee
- Staff to U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-VT), a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee
- Amanda Lefton, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Department of the Interior
- In October, shortly after the passage of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which made historic investments to reduce carbon emissions and foster a transition to clean energy, the Council hosted a virtual program with a panel of industry leaders who discussed the bill’s impact on the region’s energy landscape. The panel included representatives of Holland & Knight, the League of Conservation Voters, National Grid Ventures & Community Offshore Wind, the New England Power Generators Association, and Ørsted. Learn More & Watch the Program
- In November, the Council submitted a comment letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding winter reliability in the region. The letter came in response to a FERC-hosted conference in Vermont earlier this year, which discussed the electricity and natural gas challenges facing New England. Read the Letter
More About the Energy & Environment Committee
Financial Services Committee
- In order to keep Council members updated on the latest policy developments impacting the financial services industry, the Financial Services Committee hosted a variety of informative meetings with federal policymakers and issue experts over the course of the year. Guest speakers included:
- Ali Khawar, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
- U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA), a member of the House Financial Services Committee
- U.S. Representative Jake Auchincloss, (D-MA), a member of the House Financial Services Committee
- Staff to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), member of the Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee
- Bolstering retirement savings has long been a top priority for the Financial Services Committee, and in recent years the Committee has advocated for the passage of legislation known as SECURE 2.0, which would create more options and opportunities for New Englanders to plan for retirement. After supporting the bill’s passage by the House in 2021, the Council urged Senators to include the package in year-end spending legislation in late 2022. Many of the provisions of SECURE 2.0 were included in the omnibus spending bill that passed Congress and was signed into law in late December 2022. Learn More
More About the Financial Services Committee
Healthcare Committee
- In March 2022, The New England Council’s Healthcare Committee announced the establishment of several health subcommittees to better shape and drive the Council’s work on healthcare policy issues. Based upon feedback from Healthcare Committee members, the four subcommittees include: Addiction & Behavioral Health Subcommittee, Health Equity Subcommittee, Health Innovation &Technology Subcommittee, and Workforce Subcommittee.
- Under the leadership of the Health Innovation & Technology Subcommittee, in October 2022, the Council hosted “New England Innovates: Combatting Alzheimer’s Disease,” an in-person program in Boston. Following keynote remarks by U.S. Senator Ed Markey, co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, a panel of Council members discussed challenges and opportunities in combatting Alzheimer’s Disease. Learn More & Watch the Program
- In November 2022, the Health Equity Subcommittee hosted a Roundtable Discussion on the Intersection of Food Security & Health Equity, featuring U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA). Congressman McGovern briefed Healthcare Committee members on the recent White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, and heard from members about their various initiatives to address food security and ensure equitable health outcomes for patients of all backgrounds. Learn More
- As the Biden Administration considered locations for the headquarters of the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the Council sent a letter to key Administration officials encouraging them to consider New England as the location for the new agency. The letter highlighted the region’s vibrant innovation economy and network of world-renowned healthcare institutions as key benefits for the new agency. Learn More & Read the Letter
More About the Healthcare Committee
Higher Education Committee
- As part of the Council’s Washington Leaders’ Conference in May 2022, members of the Higher Education Committee had the opportunity to meet with Under Secretary James Kvaal of the U.S. Department of Education. Under Secretary Kvaal updated members on the Department’s ongoing efforts to support colleges and universities as they continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, and discussed the Administration’s initiatives to expand access to higher education.
- In July 2022, the Council launched a new online version of “Partnerships for the Talent Pipeline: A Directory of New England Education-Industry Partnerships.” The new searchable, sortable online database of over 100 unique partnerships between employers and educational institutions replaces previous print editions of the directory, which was first published in 2016. View the Directory
- Over the course of 2022, the Higher Education Committee partnered with several other committees on joint federal advocacy initiatives. The Higher Education committee collaborated with the Healthcare Committee on a letter the the Administration calling for the new ARPA-H headquarters to be based in New England, and partnered with the Technology & Innovation Working Group to advocate for the reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR programs.
More About the Higher Education Committee
Technology & Innovation Working Group
- In February 2022, the Council announced the relaunch of what was previously known as the Technology Committee as a new Technology & Innovation Working Group. Rather than focus exclusively on what has been traditionally consider the “technology” sector, the new cross-sector group brings together Council members from a variety of sectors to work collaboratively on federal policy that impacts our region’s Innovation Economy more broadly.
- Legislation to support domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing and promote US innovation and competitiveness was a top priority for the new Working Group in 2022. In April, the Council weighed in with a Conference Committee that was working to reconcile the Senate and House versions of the bill to highlight the region’s priorities. Later, as Congress considered compromise legislation known as the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022,” the Council wrote to the region’s Congressional delegation urging them to support the legislation, highlighting how it will promote innovation and growth in New England. Learn More & Read the Letter
- In collaboration with the Higher Education Committee, the Working Group wrote to the region’s Congressional delegation in September urging them to support the reauthorization of two programs that are vital to innovation and research in the region, that were soon due to expire. The Council called on Congress to pass legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology (STTR) programs, which ultimately passed by the deadline. Learn More & Read the Letter
- In December 2022, the Council again wrote to the New England Congressional delegation urging them to take action to address a change to the tax code that will negatively impact innovation in the region. Specifically, the Council called on Congress to pass a fix to an impending change in the tax code that would require businesses to deduct research and development (R&D) over five years, instead of deducting the full amount in the year spent. Learn More & Read the Letter
More About the Technology & Innovation Working Group
Trade Working Group
- As the region and the nation faced unprecedented supply chain challenges in early 2022, the Trade Working Group and the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee partnered to present a virtual program exploring both the causes and impact of the supply chain challenges. Moderated by Trade Working Group Chair Nasim Fussell of Holland & Knight, the January 2022 program featured a panel discussion with representatives of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAT), CSX, Massport, Stop & Shop Supermarkets, and UPS. Watch Here
- In conjunction with the Council’s Washington Leaders’ Conference in May 2022, members of the Trade Working Group had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White. the two trade leaders provided insight on such items as the current state of U.S. trade relations, the World Trade Organization, and the Biden Administration’s efforts on implementing the USMCA while addressing particular trade issues of concern to Council members in attendance.
More About the Trade Working Group
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
- As the region and the nation faced unprecedented supply chain challenges in early 2022, the Trade Working Group and the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee partnered to present a virtual program exploring both the causes and impact of the supply chain challenges. Moderated by Trade Working Group Chair Nasim Fussell of Holland & Knight, the January 2022 program featured a panel discussion with representatives of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAT), CSX, Massport, Stop & Shop Supermarkets, and UPS. Watch Here
- Over the course of the year, the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee also hosted several meetings with key Congressional staff working on transportation policy on Capitol HIll, including Abby Camp Wenk, the Director of Coalitions and Operations for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), and William Seabrook, Legislative Assistant for transportation and infrastructure issues in the Office of Rep. Stephen Lynch, a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
More About the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee