Accomplishments

The Inflation Reduction Act

Congressman Keating joined House Democrats and President Biden in passing the Inflation Reduction Act. This historic law will bring down costs, reduce the deficit, and take aggressive action on climate – all paid for by making sure the largest corporations and billionaire tax cheats finally pay their fair share in taxes.

The Inflation Reduction Act reduces the cost of health care for families in the 9th Congressional district and finally enables Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, prevents excessive price hikes, and caps out-of-pocket costs to $2,000.

The Inflation Reduction Act also takes aggressive action to combat the existential crisis of climate change. WE are going to invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, while reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030 with historic investments in energy security and tackling the climate crisis. Southeastern Mass is poised to be a leader in wind and renewable energy – this law will help expedite that process and create new jobs in the process.

All of this is paid for by establishing a minimum corporate tax to ensure that the wealthiest corporations finally start to pay their fair share, and cracking down on billionaire tax cheats – without increasing audit rates or raising taxes on those making under $400,000 a year by one cent.

Improved health care for veterans – Passed the PACT ACT

Congressman Keating has always made it his number one priority to ensure that we do everything we can to support our Veterans and their families.

Congressman Keating was proud to join so many of his colleagues on bipartisan basis in supporting the PACT Act.

PACT Act will: 

To ensure veterans can receive high-quality health care screenings and services related to potential toxic exposures, the PACT Act expands access to VA health care services for veterans exposed during their military service.

Passed the CHIPS and Science Act

Congressman Keating joined his colleagues in passing the CHIPS and Science Act with bipartisan votes. This bill will lower the cost of goods. It will make cars, dishwashers, computers and more – cheaper. 

The CHIPS and Science Act will help us compete with China by lowering the cost of everyday goods, strengthen American manufacturing and innovation, create good-paying jobs, and bolstering our national security. 

Gun Safety – Passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

After many years of inaction by Congressional Republicans – Congressman Keating was proud to join his colleagues in finally passing meaningful measures that will address our country’s gun violence epidemic.The legislation took important steps, including requiring people under 21 to undergo enhanced background checks, closing the “boyfriend loophole,” and providing funding to address youth mental health. Congressman Keating believes there is much more left to deter gun violence – including reinstituting the assault weapon ban..

Congressional Democrats pass bills to codify Roe, protect interstate travel for abortion

The Women’s Health Protection Act, would establish a statutory right for health care providers to provide, and patients to receive, abortion services. It would also prohibit states from imposing restrictions on abortion care. No Republicans voted for this bill. 

Passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will:

Repairs Roads & Bridges – with the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system itself.

Invests in Public Transit & Rail – with the largest investment in public transit and passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak.

Expands Broadband – ensuring every American has access to reliable high-speed internet, all the more critical after COVID.

Secures Clean Water for Our Children – making the largest investment in clean drinking water & waste water infrastructure in American history, replacing lead pipes and delivering clean water to millions of families.

American Rescue Plan

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act into law helped combat COVID-19 and supercharge a historic economic recovery.

The American Rescue Plan:

Helped get over 500 million shots in arms. Over two-thirds of Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19 thanks to the American Rescue Plan.

Delivered needed relief to families by sending over 160 million checks to Americans, expanding food and rental assistance, and providing aid to thousands of small businesses. The expanded Child Tax Credit led to the largest-ever one-year decrease in childhood poverty in American history.

Safely reopened America’s schools and made a historic investment to tackle learning loss and address mental health. Today, over 99% of schools are open for in-person learning. Before the ARP, only 46% of schools were open in-person.

Congressman Keating Securing Local Aid For the Cities and Towns of the 9th Congressional District

Cape Cod and the Islands

  • Secured $42mil in watershed funding for Cape Cod, including $27.2mil for the Herring River Marsh, the largest marshland restoration project ever attempted. Successfully secured $124 million in federal transit funding for the Cape & Islands to ensure continued operation of bus service and the lifeline ferry services to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
  • Worked with Army Corps of Engineers on a plan to replace the aging Cape Cod Canal Bridges and secured funding mechanisms to further the plan. 
  • Successfully secured a guarantee from the U.S. Air Force to fund the cleanup of PFAS-contaminated wells in Mashpee.
  • Secured over $45mil in federal dollars for local municipal airports on the Cape and Islands that support our local economy and tourism industry.
  • Lead advocate for Vineyard Wind, the first large-scale offshore commercial wind farm in the nation.
  • Congressional expert on H2B and J1 visas, which are critical to ensure our businesses have the seasonal workforce they need to be successful
  • Worked to fund and extend the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, ensuring that 186 Cape and Islands restaurants received $110 million to continue operating while also advocating to ensure adequate staffing levels could be maintained.
  • Supported the Paycheck Protection Program which helped 7,791 Cape & Island businesses continue to pay their employees.
  • Secured $1mil for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s Center for Renewable and Responsible Energy to train the next generation of workers for the offshore wind industry.
  • Secured $1.95mil for the Cape Cod Community College aviation maintenance program, ensuring that the trained workers necessary to keep the region’s airports running are available.
  • Secured $2.5mil for Outer Cape Health Service’s recovery programming to provide additional space at their structured outpatient program.
  • Secured $1.5mil for Cape Cod Healthcare’s efforts to digitize their patient records making care more efficient and increasing communication with other healthcare providers.
  • Secured House appropriation for $1mil in federal funding to increase capacity at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Wastewater treatment plant which will reduce groundwater contamination issues that impact the island’s water supply.
  • Secured House appropriation for $959,400 in federal funds to support the Cape Abilities Farm in Dennis which provides fresh produce for community members in need while teaching job skills to the developmentally disabled.
  • Secured House appropriation for $400,000 in funding for the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown which provides arts education programming for the community at large.
  • Secured House appropriation for $750,000 in funding for the Independence House in Hyannis which will go toward a building improvement project that will assist them in better serving sexual and domestic violence survivors.
  • Secured House appropriation for $1.78mil to expand the dental hygiene program at Cape Cod Community College.

South Coast

  • Arranged for Department of Agriculture to buy $35million worth of fish from South Coast fishermen to be used in school lunches across the country.
  • Secured $1mil in funding for critical upgrades to the St. Luke’s Hospital trauma center.
  • Lead advocate for New Bedford to be the primary staging location for Vineyard Wind, the first large-scale offshore commercial wind farm in the nation, bringing 3,600 jobs to the region.
  • Secured $2mil for the National Offshore Wind Institute in New Bedford which will provide the training opportunities necessary to ensure that local workers have the skills to build Vineyard Wind and other offshore wind projects.
  • Secured $2.4 mil for the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center to make critical capital expenditures that will enable the GNBCHC to continue serving their 25,000 patients annually.
  • Secured $500,000 for the Bristol County Chamber Foundation to expand program offerings that support entrepreneurship on the South Coast.
  • Secured $375,000 for upgrades to the Veteran’s Transition House in New Bedford that will enable them to more efficiently assist homeless veterans in need.
  • Secured House appropriation for $750,000 in funding for capital improvements at the Greater New Bedford YMCA
  • Secured commitments for $1.35mil in funding for the aviation training program at New Bedford Airport which provides Bridgewater State University students with hands-on experience in the aviation field. 
  • Secured House appropriation for $536,000 to implement equitable approaches in public safety and support New Bedford first responders. 
  • Worked to fund and extend the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, ensuring that 60 South Coast restaurants had the funds to continue operating while also advocating to ensure adequate staffing levels could be maintained.
  • Supported the Paycheck Protection Program which helped 3,403 South Coast businesses continue to pay their employees.

South Shore

  • Secured $14 million to complete the dredging of Plymouth Harbor in time for the return of the Mayflower during Plymouth 400. 
  • Further exposed Holtec’s plan to dump radioactive water in Cape Cod Bay and was successful in stopping the immediate dumping by Holtec.
  • Secured $5.5 million in funding for museums, theaters, and concert venues that were closed as a result of the pandemic, including Plimoth Patuxet and the Mayflower II. 
  • Worked with European counterparts to prevent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. Cranberries from wiping out family owned bogs in Massachusetts.
  • Worked to fund and extend the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, ensuring that 45 South Shore restaurants had the funds to continue operating while also advocating to ensure adequate staffing levels could be maintained.
  • Supported the Paycheck Protection Program which helped 4,449 South Shore businesses continue to pay their employees.
  • Secured House appropriation for $2mil in funding for Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth to improve facilities to better serve patients.
  • Secured House appropriation for $2mil in funding to expand the Old Colony YMCA’s Early Childhood Program in Plymouth to improve child outcomes and enable parents to maximize their time in the workforce.
  • Secured House appropriation for $2.5mil in funding for a new Wastewater Treatment Plant in Plymouth that will keep nitrogen and other pollutants out of our groundwater.
  • Secured House appropriation for $3mil in funding for the intergenerational Pembroke Community Center project to help ensure the project can move forward despite rising costs


Paid for by the Bill Keating Committee