If Congressman Jim McGovern were in the majority next session, the U.S. House agenda would likely address climate change, pay disparities between men and women, and the high cost of higher education, the Worcester Democrat told local business leaders.
If his party is able to turn back the wave that has swept Republicans into elective office in recent years, Democrats would also delve into topics Congress has worked on this session, according to McGovern, but their approach would obviously differ.
McGovern said Democrats would seek to fix the Affordable Care Act that Republicans have tried to dismantle, and try to change the country’s tax system so that it “not only encourages economic growth but encourages that people have decent wages,” McGovern said Tuesday.
“Whether we get to single-payer or not – I don’t think that the votes are there for something like that – but I think we would have a more progressive health care system,” McGovern ventured.
During his talk at the Hampshire House, the congressman who was first elected two decades ago spoke about his party’s priorities in response to a question by a Red Sox official who asked what the agenda would be if Democrats sweep back into power.
“He had a pretty long list of agenda items,” said former Beacon Hill aide David Friedman, the senior vice president of legal and government affairs for the Boston Red Sox, who asked McGovern the question. “If half of that happened, it would be pretty impressive.”
Even having a say over what is on the agenda next session would be an impressive feat by Democrats.
Divided between its centrist and liberal wings, the Democratic Party has not picked off any seats in the special congressional elections held in Kansas, Montana, Georgia or South Carolina to replace members tapped for Trump administration posts.
As Democrats tune up for the 2018 election, they will have to contend with the biggest newsmaker in modern history who is also the leader of the Republican party.
“One of the problems with Donald Trump – he sucks all of the oxygen out of the room,” McGovern said. He said, “It’s not that we don’t stand for anything. It’s that we’re having trouble penetrating and getting that message out there, and I think we’re going to have to better utilize social media, we’re going to have to try to find ways to cut through the noise.”
While they held the White House for eight years under President Barack Obama, Democrats have taken a thumping in down-ballot contests, losing the House, then the Senate and suffering historic defeats in state legislatures.
Democrats last held the House in 2010 – the year the Affordable Care Act passed into law. Opposition parties are generally favored to pick up seats in the election two years after the presidential contest.
In July, the Cook Political Report wrote that Democrats will need “good fortune” to get in position to win back the 24 seats needed to re-take the majority.
Asked whether Democrats should welcome only candidates who support abortion access, McGovern said he disagreed with that approach.
“I guess we are a big tent, and so litmus tests are things I’m not very excited about imposing,” said McGovern, who is pro-choice. He said, “I could never get elected in West Virginia.”
Springfield Congressman Richard Neal spoke out against “pure party” rigidity in June, and last year said that since 2010, Republicans have gained 69 U.S. House seats, 15 U.S. Senate seats, 15 governor’s offices, and more than 830 seats in state Legislatures. “This is stunning,” he said.