By Bob Katzen

“For more than a year, we’ve been fighting to protect the constitutional rights of babies born in Massachusetts and across the country from the Trump Administration’s blatantly unlawful order that would rip away their right to citizenship. Courts have ruled again and again that President Trump does not have the authority to rewrite the Constitution, and I will continue to stand up for the rule of law and for American children across the country whose fundamental rights are being attacked by this administration.”

—Attorney General Andrea Campbell and a coalition of 24 attorneys general filing an amicus brief, defending birthright citizenship, at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Restoring wetlands and streams, removing dams and replacing culverts make our communities safer and more resilient to the increasing extreme weather events. Investing in this work benefits all of us now and into the future.”
—Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper announcing the Healey Administration’s awarding of more than $1.4 million in grants to support river and wetland restoration.

“We’re deeply disappointed in today’s vote. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) board had an opportunity to be ambitious and forward-looking, and they chose not to. Instead, they voted to invest millions of ratepayer dollars in an outdated system that will continue to dump untreated sewage into our beloved Charles River.”
— Charles River Watershed Association Executive Director Emily Norton criticizing the MWRA for voting to approve an infrastructure plan that Norton says would allow sewage discharges into the Charles River forever.

“We are very concerned for the health and safety of the over 150,000 households we serve across the state, and especially for over 25,000 who heat with oil and who have exhausted all resources for another delivery with no prospect of another fuel assistance benefit. This is a desperate situation.”
—Joe Diamond, Massachusetts Association for Community Action Executive Director, on the failure of the estimated $159 million Massachusetts will receive this fiscal year from the federal program, to cover the heating needs of vulnerable households for the entire winter.

“Massachusetts has extraordinary talent and entrepreneurial energy, but too many willing workers and aspiring business owners are stuck navigating unnecessary red tape. If we want to compete for jobs and investment, we need to modernize our systems so they work for entrepreneurs, immigrants and small employers—not against them.”
—Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute, on the institute’s new report stating that outdated rules are constraining growth and outlining practical reforms to expand workforce participation, better integrate legal immigrants and new market entrants, support small business formation and restore competitiveness.