LAST 2 WEEKS IN REVIEW

I’m your Representative in Congress and I write to keep you informed. 

• Fighting back against RFK Jr. in defense of public health
• Coercive diplomacy with Iran 
• Security & self-determination for Armenia and Bosnia
• The Trump administration’s continued crypto grift
• Working with business & labor in Massachusetts 
• Addressing fentanyl addiction through both supply and demand measures
• District visits: housing on state land & safer walking routes for students
• Town hall: Rolling back the imperial presidency

Fighting back against RFK Jr. in defense of public health

Secretary Kennedy Jr. in the hot seat: I questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before the Energy and Commerce Committee. I pressed him on the conflicts of interest stemming from HHS's use of ‘special government employees’ who continue to run and own their own health care companies. Kennedy, who has long professed a desire for 'radical transparency,' couldn’t answer basic questions about what safeguards were put in place to address potential conflicts involving Calley Means of TrueMed and Brad Smith of Main Street Health. He refused to call for transparency for either Mr. Means or Mr. Smith.

As a reminder from my last newsletter, Calley Means currently serves as a White House advisor and as a special government employee for HHS. Brad Smith served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) until his reported departure on May 29, 2025.

I’ve called for full transparency from both HHS and the companies involved, sending letters to TrueMed and Main Street Health to demand documentation and accountability. I offered the Republican chair of the Health Subcommittee to join me, but he declined. I am proceeding, regardless, with oversight and accountability. Without robust ethics standards, the integrity of our public health system is being compromised for the profit of RFK Jr. and his allies.

MIT CEO Conference: I joined former FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf to speak with biotech CEOs at the MIT CEO Conference. This administration's health policies are terrible for vaccines, for the Massachusetts Eds & Meds sector, and for the biotech industry. I put forward that Democrats must not only contest the conspiracy and corruption of Secretary Kennedy, but also activate our own agenda for supporting biomedical R&D:

• Double R&D funding, adopt NIH reforms, and launch a public-private campaign to cure Alzheimer's Disease.

• Strengthen the Food and Drug Administration, now under attack, as the world's premier food and drug regulator by supporting its scientists and making it faster, particularly on clinical trials.

• Protect intellectual property; ensure that Medicare and Medicaid pay for value; and disintermediate the middlemen.

Supporting the U.S. bioeconomy: I wrote to Michael Kratsios, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, urging him to maintain the U.S. bioeconomy as a priority area of development and to help advance a strong vision and strategy that will ensure continued American leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. The White House should support the National Biotechnology Initiative Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill that would implement key recommendations released by the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology in April. This administration must stop treating biotech as a punching bag and start working with the industry as a strategic partner.

Do you approve of RFK Jr's tenure as Secretary of Health & Human Services thus far? 

Coercive diplomacy with Iran 

Coercive diplomacy is the pathway to peace: Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terror, arming and funding anti-Israel and anti-American terrorists in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. They have killed Americans and waged war against Israel. The Ayatollah’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon would have made this regime even more lethal to Israelis and Americans alike.

Ending this Iranian war is the rightful objective of U.S. policy, not starting a war of choice. Both the Israeli and American strikes have helped neutralize Iran’s capacity to sow terror and discord in the Middle East. The peoples of the Middle East have a better chance now, than two weeks ago, to cast off conflict and build bridges of commerce and culture. 

With the right balance of coercion and negotiation, peace is possible. Iran is in its weakest position in three decades, and the United States should bring the regime to the negotiating table with one open hand and one closed fist. The objective: a deal for a stronger and longer version of the JCPOA that verifiably prevents nuclear weapons advancement, alongside an enforceable ban on Iranian funding for proxy terror groups. 

Security & self-determination for Armenia and Bosnia

Pushing for peace in Armenia: Along with other members of the Armenia Caucus, I met with a delegation from Armenia to discuss U.S.-Armenia relations and the prospects for a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In March, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced that they had agreed to a treaty to end 35 years of conflict, although Azerbaijan has yet to sign it. 

Azerbaijan, with support from Turkey, has repeatedly used violence and coercion against its neighbor Armenia, as well as ethnic Armenians in Artsakh. Washington must maintain pressure on both Azerbaijan and Turkey to end this conflict and let Armenians determine their own future.

Remembering the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre: I was honored to address the Congress of Bosniaks of North America on the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre, when 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were systematically murdered after seeking refuge in the town. The Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the atrocities of the Bosnian War, is now under threat from Russian and Serbian influence to inflame ethnic separatism. 

The United States, which was the crucial actor in forging Dayton, must remain committed to the success of Bosnia and Herzegovina by supporting the rule of law, helping improve institutions, and enforcing sanctions against bad actors like the president of Republika Srpska. Last week, I co-led the Upholding the Dayton Peace Agreement Through Sanctions Act, which mandates sanctions on foreign persons who undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement or otherwise threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This engagement is not only in the interest of Bosnians – it also prevents Russia from opening up a second front against NATO in the Western Balkans.

The Trump administration’s continued crypto grift

Addressing Secretary Lutnick’s crypto conflicts: I opposed the Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2025, which quietly passed under voice vote. The legislation directs the Secretary of Commerce to pursue U.S. global leadership in blockchain. I voted for this legislation last Congress, when Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo could be trusted to pursue strategic innovation in the best interests of the public.

The current Secretary, Howard Lutnick, would use this legislation to advance his own family's financial interests. His son, Brandon, is directly tied to Tether, the controversial stablecoin platform that’s aggressively expanding in the Middle East. Tether’s key investors include Cantor Fitzgerald, where Secretary Lutnick served as CEO and chairman for 40 years. Now, with his son Brandon at the helm, they’re leveraging the weight of U.S. policy to pitch Tether to foreign governments, all under the guise of national blockchain leadership. 

The United States government should neither fear nor favor new technology, but rather base regulations on tech-agnostic principles like consumer protection, stable currency, and competitive markets. However, that role becomes impossible when the Secretary of Commerce’s own children stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the legislation. 

The president has already attempted to sell off the presidency to the highest bidder with his meme coin, $TRUMP. Blockchain may have legitimate use cases, but one of them is not increasing the personal fortunes of the President or his Secretary of Commerce. 

Working with business & labor in Massachusetts 

Pushing federal policy that works for Massachusetts: The New England Council, which convenes business and nonprofit leaders, hosted me for an annual update. I emphasized how my role on the Energy and Commerce Committee aligns with Massachusetts’ priorities:

• Supporting expanded funding, intellectual property protection, and evidence-based regulation for the Eds and Meds sector. My committee has jurisdiction over the NIH, FDA, Medicare, and Medicaid—all of which are under assault by RFK Jr.’s quackery and corruption.

• Promoting geothermal, nuclear, offshore wind, and other energy sources is vital to lowering utility bills for Bay Staters.

• Protecting clean water and clean air regulations that have dramatically improved our environment over the past half-century, and promoting tougher PFAS standards to ensure safe drinking water.

Strengthening Massachusetts’ trades: I met with the Massachusetts Building Trades Union leadership in Taunton, at the IBEW 223 (electrical workers) training facility. We discussed project labor agreements, prevailing wage laws, trade schools, apprenticeships, and nuclear energy. The trade unions do not just offer good wages and benefits with no student debt, they also carve out career pathways for the next generation. 

America must build more, faster – energy, housing, laboratories, factories, ships – and close cooperation between government, employers, and trade unions can create a positive feedback loop of deeper skills, higher wages, better project management, and faster delivery.

Addressing fentanyl addiction through both supply and demand measures

Fentanyl task force: Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan invited me to her fentanyl task force at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Speaking with medical professionals, law enforcement, and patients, I described federal action to disrupt fentanyl imports. The Chinese export the vast majority of fentanyl precursors and pill presses, as well as facilitate money laundering with the Mexican cartels. 

Last term, I drafted three bipartisan bills to interdict this fentanyl supply chain. These bills sanction the Chinese fentanyl manufacturers; enhance inspections and penalties for shippers; and define a joint task force to fuse together all organs of federal power in one command center.

While this legislation still retains bipartisan support, the president has chosen instead to intertwine the fentanyl issue with the trade deficit negotiations with China. I disagree with this approach, as it permits Chinese diplomats to drag out and de-emphasize the fentanyl dimension of our bilateral dispute. The U.S. government must act with urgency and ferocity to stem the tide of fentanyl that is flooding over Americans and first responders.

Voices for Non-Opioid Choices: I met with Voices for Non-Opioid Choices, a nonpartisan coalition seeking to prevent opioid addiction by increasing access to non-opioid pain management, particularly after surgery. 

I am a cosponsor of the Alternatives to Prevent Addiction in the Nation (PAIN) Act, which would reduce cost-sharing and cut insurance red tape under the Medicare prescription drug benefit for certain non-opioid pain management drugs. In addition to Medicare, Congress must also expand access to non-opioid pain management for youth and veterans. Although clinicians have significantly improved prescription management in recent years, too many youth and veterans have begun a spiral into addiction with post-surgery opioids.

Curbing the housing shortfall: The 495/MetroWest Partnership hosted a housing roundtable where local experts and I discussed best practices for using state and federal land for housing. The group then toured the former Medfield State Hospital site, which is being redeveloped into 334 multifamily housing units and the Bellforge Art Center space.

I raised several policy proposals currently under debate for developing state and federal land that is underutilized (such as sites near rail stops) or no longer in use (like former military bases or post offices). Planning officials and developers shared both their successes and frustrations. One key takeaway was the immense potential—but also the acute political challenge—of redeveloping the former Fort Devens, and other state & federal lands, to help Massachusetts meet its 250,000-home shortfall over the next decade.

We must start thinking differently as a state about housing if we want to prevent our economy and our families from being suffocated by spiraling prices.

Safe walking routes in Berkley: The 8th-grade civics class at Berkley Middle School is organizing a safe walking route between the school and the town common. They are building on advocacy from the previous 8th-grade classes’ civic action projects. Along with state and local officials, I listened to the students’ rationale for the route: promoting community cohesion, protecting pedestrian safety, and enhancing economic development. Then, I walked the current route with student leaders.

They’re right! Berkley needs a safe walking route between the middle school and the common. I’ll be working to secure congressionally directed spending to help make it happen.

Reining in the imperial presidency: After my first was oversubscribed, I hosted a second Zoom town hall on upholding the rule of law with Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit. The most prominent theme was the need for bipartisan congressional commitment to rolling back the presidency's inflated powers over tariffs, law enforcement, war-making, emergency spending, and independent agencies. 

I am skeptical that congressional Republicans will act this term, but I am committed for the long haul to Article One action to rein in the imperial presidency. Americans are exhausted by titanic struggles every four years to elect one individual who has amassed too much unilateral power over both everyday life and monumental decisions of war and peace. Although the current president has turbocharged my concerns, they predate his tenure: I challenged the previous president when I thought he overstepped his authority at home and abroad, as well.

Another interesting point was the '3.5% rule'. Quoting here from a recent Protect Democracy email on the subject:

"[During the No Kings Day demonstrations], between four and six million Americans came out to protest against the White House. That means, on a single day, somewhere between one and two percent of the population of the United States was at the same coordinated protest.

That is a lot of people.

In fact, the No Kings protests were one of the largest — if not the largest — mobilization of their kind in the history of the country, significantly exceeding the Women’s March of 2017.

And when we start talking in terms of percentages of the population, it’s not long before you’ll hear a specific number: 3.5 percent.

What’s so special about 3.5 percent?

The “3.5 percent rule,” coined by one of Protect Democracy’s advisors, Erica Chenoweth, notes that empirically “no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobilized against it during a peak event.

Basically, when nonviolent social and pro-democracy movements reach a certain critical mass, they overwhelmingly tend to succeed. To be clear, there are a lot of caveats and limitations (more on those in a second), but this means the United States is quickly approaching the level of civic and pro-democracy mobilization that has, globally speaking, almost uniformly prevailed against repressive regimes."

Read the full piece here.

Question: “Do you agree (as do I) or disagree with your colleague, Rep. Jim Himes (CT) that 'Donald Trump’s decision to launch direct military action against Iran without congressional approval is a clear violation of the Constitution, which grants the power to declare war explicitly to Congress.’”


 - Carlo, Newton

Answer: The president’s strike against Iran should have been approved by Congress. The president cannot legally conduct hostilities against Iran through previous Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF); emergency self-defense claims; or inherent commander-in-chief powers. The Constitution demands, and the American public deserve, that Congress define and approve the president’s military approach to the Middle East.

Rep. Himes’ War Powers resolution is an important element of that effort. Another important element is the revocation of the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs, that were too broadly drafted and have allowed presidents of both parties too much latitude in military action. A third element would be updates to the 1970s War Powers Resolution to enhance Congress’s role in authorizing and overseeing hostilities. 

Former President Bill Clinton once said that people the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power. In this Iran conflict, America has just provided an example of our power. Let us now demonstrate the power of our example, by engaging in democratic debate about the force of arms.

You can submit a question for a future newsletter here. Please note that casework inquiries for federal agencies must be submitted to my website here. My casework team will respond to these in a timely manner. 

Onwards,

Jake