Richard Neal and Jeromie Whalen participate in their first debate ahead of the Sept. 1 primary.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
CHICOPEE — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and challenger Jeromie Whalen argued about corporate money, public appearances across the commonwealth and experience during their first head-to-head debate on Aug. 26 at the WWLP TV-22 Studios.
The debate, which offered voters a preview of the race ahead of the Sept. 1 primary, was moderated by 22News InFocus host Patrick Berry. It covered a range of topics, including healthcare costs, cost of living, Social Security, money and influence and working with the potential incoming Democratic Socialist class.
The debate had no shortage of fireworks as Whalen took jabs at Neal for the debate’s condensed 30-minute length. He also ostracized Neal for not hosting an in-person Town Hall since 2017 and his refusal to show up at recent candidate forums.
He also criticized him for spending money on box seats at baseball games and taking corporate money to push certain agendas.
Addressing those claims, Neal cited a Berkshire Eagle editorial: “Light on facts, empty on promises, big on platitudes,” he said about Whalen.
As the incumbent, Neal is looking to secure his 20th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has represented Massachusetts’s 1st Congressional District since 1989. Before that, Neal served as the Springfield mayor from 1983-1989.
“This is a challenging, dangerous time given the policies of [President] Donald Trump, whether it relates to his cutbacks to healthcare, his cutbacks on immigration or the changes he’s attempted to make in nutrition programs,” Neal stated. “I have delivered for the people of Western and central Massachusetts.”
Neal highlighted different achievements, including saving pensions for two million people through the Butch Lewis Act. He said he also ensured that 100,000 people had their Social Security benefits restored and added that he helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Whalen said he thinks the House of Representatives could use a new voice and argued for a new generation of Democratic leadership. Whalen is currently a high school teacher looking to break into the political world. He said he wanted to run for this position after telling his students in 2016 that Trump’s election to office was an anomaly.
“Fast forward to 2024 and I was in that same predicament but this time, I was met with shrugs of shoulders because we normalized all of this,” Whalen said. “We normalized a do-nothing Congress and a corporatization of this American system, and who’s the poster child to look at? It’s our current absentee congressman who, percentage-wise, is one of the top recipients of corporate money in all of Congress.”
He also said he is running to protect the working and middle class, get Medicare for all, abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, support green new deals and surtax the wealthy.
On the topic of experience, Whalen claimed that several myths were circulating about the amount of money brought into the district. “We do not bring in more money to the district comparatively,” Whalen said. “We rank fifth out of nine for congressional representation here.”
Whalen also addressed how he would fix some of the district’s biggest problems, including healthcare and rising costs.
“We need a Medicare for all system,” Whalen said. “I can say that the current congressman takes hundreds of thousands of dollars from healthcare lobbyists and the pharmaceutical industry. We need solutions now, not putting band aids on the Affordable Care Act.”
The congressman stated that he is for “Medicare for everybody who wants it.” He explained, “I’ve had a long history of supporting, expanding healthcare for all members of the American family, including being a champion of Medicaid.”
Neal added that to get Medicare across the finish line, the U.S. will have to offer a series of choices, including allowing the teachers, labor unions and others to keep it while simultaneously expanding Medicaid across the country.
Berry later highlighted that a third of Democrats identify as Democratic Socialists, with the number set to grow next session. Both Neal and Whalen talked about working with different members of Congress.
“I think the arithmetic is profound and you can’t get past it. The idea here is to build a bigger tent, and sometimes that will mean competing voices,” Neal said. “We need to win a majority of the House of Representatives for the purpose of standing up to Donald Trump. Clearly, there are varied opinions, but there have always been various opinions in the Democratic Party for as long as I can remember.”
Neal said he has travelled the country to raise $5 million for Democratic candidates, including the Black and Hispanic caucuses as well as the Equality PAC.
Although Whalen acknowledged that the Democratic Socialists of America has not endorsed him, he said, “But what do we have in common? It’s that we can’t afford things right now, and that is why a lot of those individuals are going to be voting for me in the Democratic primary, because they know I’m gonna get this done; they know I’m for working in the middle class and not the corporation.”
Whalen’s discussed his agenda, which includes nature, climate investments and expanded federal housing programs. He said he supports rent control and restoring Medicare and Medicaid cuts and SNAP benefits. He said you can pay for the programs by continuing to surtax the wealthy.
“I think that we should work on all of them at the same time,” Whalen stated. “The first day I’m going to co-sponsor the legislation called the New Deal 2.0 because we can accomplish a lot at the same time, and we can connect the dots on the municipal, state and federal level.”
As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Neal said he will continue to work on lowering costs for families.
“I’m the only member of Congress that was sued by Donald Trump, and I sued him for his taxes and won at the Supreme Court,” Neal said. “Ending the war in Iran is the most important thing we can do to bring down prices.”
The topic that sparked the most debate between the two candidates was money and its potential influence in politics. Berry mentioned that in 2019, when Neal took over as chair of the Ways and Means Committee, he ranked number one out of 435 House members for receiving corporate PAC money and raised more than $12 million between 2010 and 2014.
Neal said that none of the campaign contributions have influenced his political positions.
“I made sure that Democratic candidates, building a majority, have had the necessary finances for their campaigns, and I want to be able to continue to do that,” Neal stated. “I have stood up for the people of Massachusetts time and again. Here’s the other point I would make: they buy in, and they accept my agenda. I don’t buy in and accept their agenda.”
Whalen concluded the debate, “I think the choice is clear here. The current congressman over the last three weeks has spent upwards of $750,000 on this race, and I think that it shows our work, our dedication, everything that we poured our hearts and soul into, meeting people, that’s all coming to fruition, and it’s also saying no to that corporate money.”
Neal concluded by highlighting more of his work over the years. He specifically noted that past presidents sought his advice on important bills or acts.
“This district, every family has benefited from my work in Congress,” Neal said. “I have been an effective member of Congress; that’s not in doubt. Time and again, I have been there when the people in this district needed me. I show up, I deliver for this district, and I have stood up to Donald Trump.”
