‘Build Back Better’ Act passes in the House
Local legislators help pass bill
Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) and House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee Chairman Mike Thompson (D-St Helena) voted to pass the “Build Back Better Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives. Legislators said that the Act aims to rebuild the American middle class by creating new jobs, cutting taxes, and lowering costs for essential goods and services. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 220-213 and now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
“Today I voted to pass one of the most consequential bills of my time in Congress, President Biden’s Build Back Better Act,” Thompson remarked Friday. “This bill makes an historic investment in American workers, families and communities and includes the most ambitious climate policies ever passed by Congress, my Green Act. The bill is paid for.”
“For workers and families, this bill provides paid family leave, universal pre-K education for 3 and 4-year-olds and another year of expanded Child Tax Credit, a tax cut for working families. These programs invest in our children. In fact, the Child Tax Credit has already helped to cut child poverty in half. The Build Back Better Act also helps families get back into the workforce. It makes health insurance more affordable, supports local cities and towns, cuts taxes for homeowners, reduces the cost of medications and includes parts of my Disaster Tax Relief Act to incentivize investments in disaster resiliency.
“The Build Back Better Act tackles climate change. The bill includes my GREEN Act, which uses the tax code to increase the use of renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions enough to meet President Biden’s long-term emissions goals. I’m deeply humbled that my legislation will play a key role in our nation’s effort to address the threat of climate change.
“All of this is supported without costing the middle class a single penny. No public school teacher, nurse, or first responder should pay a higher tax rate than a billionaire. Yet that has been the case in America for far too long. The ‘Build Back Better Act’ rights this wrong and uses the revenue it generates to provide tax cuts, jobs, lower healthcare costs, and affordable housing for the middle class.”
— Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA)
“Though this bill is not everything that I wanted, it’s an important investment in our nation, one that will pay dividends for generations. I am proud to vote to pass it today and urge the Senate to pass it quickly. We must get this done for the American people.”
“America has reached a positive turning point,” Garamendi said. “Right now, we have an opportunity to create the largest expansion of the middle class in a generation and show the American people that their government works for them—not just those at the top. That’s why I voted to pass the ‘Build Back Better Act’ today in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation fulfills the core promises in President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda and delivers real relief and support for working Americans. This legislation will provide muchneeded resources to lower health care costs, cut taxes for the middle class, cut child poverty in half, and so much more.”
“All of this is supported without costing the middle class a single penny. No public school teacher, nurse, or first responder should pay a higher tax rate than a billionaire. Yet that has been the case in America for far too long. The ‘Build Back Better Act’ rights this wrong and uses the revenue it generates to provide tax cuts, jobs, lower healthcare costs, and affordable housing for the middle class,” Garamendi continued.
“The ‘Build Back Better Act’ is also our best shot to attack the climate change and protect the air, water, and land we all rely on for our children and grandchildren’s generations. With the ‘Build Back Better Act,’ we will finally unlock the green energy economy of the future we so desperately need,” Garamendi continued
“The ‘Build Back Better Act’ is the result of months of negotiations and compromise. I am proud to support it and will work tirelessly until it becomes law, and its critically important relief is delivered to the American people,” Garamendi concluded..
The legislation invests in children, families and caregiving through:
• Universal preschool for all 3 and 4-year-olds,
• Four weeks of paid family leave,
• Affordable high-quality childcare,
• Affordable, high-quality care for hundreds of thousands of older Americans and people with disabilities in their homes and communities, and
• An expanded Child Tax Credit
Clean energy and combatting climate change through:
• $320 billion in clean energy tax credits,
• $105 billion in resilience investments,
• $110 billion in investments and incentives for clean energy technology, manufacturing, and supply chains, and
• $20 billion in clean energy procurement.
Affordable care for millions of hardworking Americans through:
• Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and
• New tools to negotiate lower prices of medications
• Ensuring Americans with diabetes don’t pay more than $35 per month for their insulin.
• Creating a new, out-ofpocket cap of $2,000 on what seniors pay for their drugs in Medicare Part D and
• Allowing Medicare to cover the cost of hearing.
Bringing down costs, reducing inflationary pressures, and strengthening the middle class through:
• $150 billion investment in housing affordability and reducing price pressures, including in rural areas,
• Education beyond high school and workforce, and
• Earned Income Tax Credit for 17 million low-wage workers, and
• Raising the State and Local Tax deduction cap to $80,000 through 2030.
The Act also offers protections and work permits for millions of immigrants consistent with the Senate’s reconciliation rules. A comprehensive summary of the “Build Back better Act” from the White House is available at https://w w w.whitehouse. gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/ president-biden-announcesthe-build-back-betterframework/