Abington always shows up for our first responders! This morning, I was honored to attend Abington's Firefighter memorial service which acknowledged the courage and sacrifice of all those engaged in the fire service and offered special recognition to past administrator Patricia Gordon and 40-year @AbingtonFDPIO Charles Whitman Jr.  Thank you to Abington Fire Chief Jack Glynn, Town Manager Michael Maresco, Board of Selectmen members Paul Bunker, Nicole Emery, Ken Coyle, Daniel Eddy, and William Cormier - we appreciate everything you do on behalf of our community!

Last night was a great night for Quincy’s Flag Day parade and Fireworks spectacular ! It was great to join Mayor Tom and Christine Koch and members of Quincy’s State House and City Hall delegations and see so many friends, families and children out enjoying the beautiful night. The fireworks and accompanying music were inspiring.

I had the honor of offering remarks at the Town of Stoughton’s 300th Anniversary Celebration and Block Party and the grand opening of the newly-renovated Historic Train Depot Community Center — a project that has been in the works since 2014. Together with Town Manager Tom Calter, Senator Bill Driscoll, Rep. Ted Philips and Rep. Bill Galvin and the Stoughton Select-board, we worked hard to secure $1,000,000 in federal Community Project Funding for this project, and although it took two budget cycles to get it done, that is the kind of persistence that Stoughton is known for. This depot/Community Center will be an anchor for Stoughton's downtown, bringing new businesses and foot traffic to a Town that truly deserves it. Hopefully it will be a centerpiece of the Stoughton Community for the next 300 years! My sincerest thanks to Town Manager Tom Calter, Select Board Chair Joe Mokrisky, Vice Chair Debra Roberts, and Select Board members Scott Carrara, Stephen Cavey, and Lori Jacques, our State Delegation, including Senator Bill Driscoll, Representatives Bill Galvin and Ted Philips, and everyone else who made this Block Party possible. Happy 300th, Stoughton!

We had a significant victory for labor rights in Congress this week! I’m proud that we passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act with the support of the @AFLCIO, @Teamsters, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, @TheIronworkers, the Transport Workers Union of America, and our other partners in the American labor movement. This bipartisan bill ensures that bad-faith employers cannot simply subvert workers who have formed a new union by endlessly stalling negotiations on a first contract. In the event of any delay of more than 10 days, a contract dispute will be promptly referred to a mediator and, if necessary, arbitration, to ensure that workers are fully able to exercise their collective bargaining rights and secure change in the workplace. @Labor_Caucus

House Oversight Cmte. Member @RepStephenLynch joins The Weeknight after interviewing Microsoft CEO Bill Gates over his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, as new reporting unveils the White House's internal freakout over the scandal.

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) said Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was “responsive” and “cooperative” during roughly four hours of closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into the government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and those with ties to him. Lynch said Gates' testimony helped identify “probably three or four people that we need to talk to next.”

Today, the Republicans forced through a $70b funding bill for ICE, which did not include any of the reforms that we demanded following the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, such as removing the masks, requiring body cameras, and wearing proper identification, to name a few. Every other Democrat and I voted NO. ICE continues to operate as a rogue enforcement agency whose lawless tactics and lack of transparency and accountability threaten the civil rights of every American. Rather than giving President Trump a blank check to continue flagrant and unconstitutional enforcement operations, we need to keep fighting to enact critical reforms – including a prohibition on agents wearing masks, the termination of arbitrary arrests, and the implementation of new training and enforcement guidelines. On the House Democratic Litigation Task Force, I’ll keep working with my colleagues, civil rights organizations, and pro-Democracy legal advocates to support litigation to block unlawful enforcement actions in federal court.

'90% of her testimony was not believable.' Rep. Stephen Lynch joined @jaketapper after longtime Epstein assistant Lesley Groff testified on Capitol Hill. Groff denies knowing about Epstein's wrongdoing.

Caught up with @JohnBerman to give an update on @OversightDems work on our Epstein Investigation. This week, we are conducting legal interviews with former Epstein assistant Lesley Groff and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to examine the extent of their relationships with Epstein. We will continue fighting to ensure that the survivors receive justice.

We hit a milestone in creating new housing in the Eighth Congressional District today with the ribbon-cutting for 887 new apartments at the “Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony” in South Boston, named after my Mom.  My Mom and Pop raised my 5 sisters and me in the Old Colony projects, one of the earliest large-scale public housing developments in the country. Today, I was honored to join @CityOfBoston Mayor Michelle Wu, @nickcollinsma, @david_biele, @EdforBoston, and @ErinforBoston for the final ribbon cutting on phase six of a $450 million transformation into new homes for over 1,400 residents, built by 100% union labor. Housing is a core element of the American Dream, and it has become less accessible in recent years for many renters and first-time home buyers. This housing development provided my family with a safe, affordable place at a time when we were struggling financially. My mother loved this community and would be so proud to see it today. My sincerest thanks to @BHA_Boston Administrator Kenzie Bok, Howard Cohen, and Dara Kovel of Beacon Communities, the McGonagle family, the AFL-CIO Housing Trust, @MassHousing, Mayor Tom Menino and Mayor @MartyJWalsh, and all our partners over the past 17 years who worked to make this project happen.

The annual agriculture appropriations bill is supposed to be a bipartisan effort that provides critical funding for nutrition assistance programs that working families depend on to make ends meet.    The partisan funding bill that the House Republican Leadership put on the Floor this week does the opposite.     It slashes funding for the federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program that provides healthy food assistance, maternal healthcare support, and nutrition education to nearly 7 million families nationwide.    The bill also fails to reverse more than $187 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that President Trump and Congressional Republicans enacted into law last year. SNAP benefits help more than 42 million Americans, including over 125,000 recipients in the 8th Congressional District, to cover skyrocketing grocery costs and access healthy food.      I voted NO and will continue to fight for an agriculture funding bill that will actually lower the cost of living for working families in our Congressional District and beyond.

We are now into the fifth year of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unlawful war of aggression against Ukraine – with Russian forces continuing to launch a deadly drone and missile air campaign against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.    Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has refused to provide additional security assistance to the Ukrainian people and even slashed tens of millions in funding that would have supported the investigation of Russian war crimes targeting Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.   In defense of a free and sovereign Ukraine, and in the interest of U.S. national security, I voted YES on the Ukraine Support Act.  This bipartisan legislation authorizes additional security assistance for Ukraine and will impose harsher sanctions on Russia if it continues the war, refuses to engage in good faith peace negotiations, or violates the terms of an existing peace agreement.

As an early co-sponsor of the Iran War Powers Resolution, it was especially gratifying today to finally force a vote to gain House passage. I give great credit to our Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member, @RepGregoryMeeks, for his relentless effort to bring several Republican members over to our side.  With President Trump’s war of choice against Iran at a stalemate despite his claims to the contrary, the safety of American service members and U.S. national security demand that the President comply with the Constitution and the War Powers Act of 1973 and terminate the use of U.S. Armed Forces in Iran absent Congressional authorization.

One of my favorite parts of my job is meeting with students and talking with them about the issues that matter most to them. It was great to meet with Master of Public Administration and Law students from @Suffolk_U in Washington today.   Many of these students are currently working in federal, state, and local government, and we had a great discussion on current events, their classes, and various policy areas they are passionate about.   Thank you to their professor, and former Quincy City Councilor, Doug Gutro, for your commitment to your students and your dedication to teaching the future generation!

On the House Democratic Litigation Task Force, we are working together with pro-democracy advocates like @DemocracyFwd and others to challenge unlawful Trump Administration actions in court – and we are securing key wins. In a victory for the rule of law and American taxpayers, a federal court in D.C. recently blocked President Trump’s unconstitutional slush fund, which would have allowed Trump to use $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to award payouts to the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol and assaulted Capitol police officers. I am also grateful that a federal court in Virginia has issued an order requiring the removal of President Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including the building façade, all physical and digital signage, and official materials. As the sponsor of legislation to do the same, I firmly agree with the Court’s finding that “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it."

In support of voting rights and election integrity, I introduced the "Vote by Mail Protection Act" to invalidate President Trump's executive order and prohibit the U.S. Postal Service and other federal agencies from using any taxpayer funds to restrict voting rights.

It was a full house at the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association meeting at the Paul McLaughlin Boys & Girls Club. Very grateful to President Bill Walczak and VP Eileen Boyle for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on what is happening in Washington and across the District and take some thoughtful questions. It was great to see former Councilor Frank Baker and Nichole Mikshenas and hear Jim Brett discuss the Mary Ann Brett Food Pantry. I was impressed by the level of engaged citizenship ant the well-managed agenda that reflected what was most important in the Dorchester neighborhood.

As we begin celebrating Pride Month, we must be mindful that recent Supreme Court decisions have shown us that the civil rights of all Americans can never be taken for granted. We need to support each other - now more than ever. As a member of the @EqualityCaucus and a cosponsor of the Equality Act, I will continue to push for greater protections and agency for the LGBTQI community.