Barrios Op-Ed: Continuing to Protect the Priorities of Working People

Op-Ed

For Immediate Release
February 27, 2004
Please Contact: Colin Durrant (617)722-1650 or
Dalié Jiménez, 617-722-1650

Op-Ed: Continuing to Protect the Priorities of Working People

The last few weeks at the State House have been dominated by debate on how a few carefully crafted sentences could change the face of our state's Constitution forever. I, for one, am deeply concerned that these efforts have so thoroughly dominated discussion on Beacon Hill that the issue has begun to detract from the real priorities of the majority of taxpayers in my district. I wish the governor and the legislature would spend as much time and energy finding ways to lower the cost of prescription drugs as they have spent on this unnecessary and divisive attempt to change our state's Constitution.

All of the cities and towns in my district are struggling with tough budget cuts that are affecting the quality of the services they provide and that taxpayers depend on. It is those budget cuts and a handful of issues -- affordable health care, quality education, and economic security for our families -- that legislators should be squarely focused on.

Affordable healthcare and lower prescription drug prices. First, I will continue working with legislators to pass my bill to provide information to seniors and sick residents about how they can save significant amounts of money by reimporting their prescription drugs from certified Canadian pharmacies. Second, I will turn up the heat on Governor Romney and the federal government to explore bulk purchasing and other opportunities for reducing the ridiculously high cost of prescription drugs in Massachusetts. Something has to be done to protect hard working people from rising health care costs.
Quality education for our children. I will fight for increases in state aid to local schools in this year's budget. I will also support full funding for the state's School Building Assistance program so that cities like Chelsea, Revere and Everett can receive the money they were promised in order to construct badly needed new schools.
Affordable housing and adequate public transportation. Rising housing costs and cluttered roads continue to frustrate residents of the Boston area. I am actively promoting projects -- like the Urban Ring and Green Line extension -- that will improve public transportation for many communities in my district. Additionally, I am going to ask for an extension of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which will create more affordable housing for working families by giving developers of low-income rental units an incentive to build more apartments through a tax credit.
Protect hard working families and small businesses from rising fees and tolls. With MWRA rates rising annually and tolls on the Tobin increasing, I will oppose any and all increases in fees and tolls because they are essentially a tax on hard working families in my district. Additionally, I will work with other legislators to provide funding for the MWRA Rate Relief fund, which will provide a modicum of relief to those families that need it most.
Homeland security means hometown security: Governor Romney has yet to develop a comprehensive game plan for responding to a terrorist attack and has allowed hundreds of local police and fire personnel to be laid off. Our state must prioritize the development of such a plan, which incorporates coordination with local cities and towns. In 2004, I will continue fighting for the interests of local cities and towns that desperately need financial resources to hire additional police and fire personnel. After all, you can't have homeland security without hometown security.

To be clear, I intend to stand up for the rights of all my constituents, and on March 11th when the Legislature reconvenes in Constitutional Convention I will oppose any further attempts to put discrimination in our constitution. It's a shame that with so many challenges facing our local cities and towns, some leaders have chosen to drag the state through this long and bitter political fight to amend our Constitution.

It's time for all of us to get back to work on the issues that are a priority for the health and economic security of working families in Massachusetts.

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last updated 10-Jul-2006 10:30 AM

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