Bonamici Statement for the Record on the Build Back Better Act

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of a meaningful and consequential piece of legislation, the Build Back Better Act.    

This bill will strengthen our economy, create good-paying jobs, and make extraordinary investments that will improve child care, education, health care, child nutrition, and housing. Importantly, the legislation will take critical steps to address the climate crisis. 

This legislation is a significant victory for children, families, caregivers, and early childhood educators. According to data from Oregon State University, every county in my home state of Oregon was a child care desert for infant and toddler care before the coronavirus pandemic, meaning that there is only one spot for every three children who need care. The $390 billion investment for early childhood care and universal preschool in the Build Back Better Act is fundamental to the long-term success and health of our kids and economy. These investments will help millions of parents, overwhelmingly women, return to work. Additionally, we will finally recognize the critical role of early childhood educators by making sure they are paid a living wage.  

We have also provided substantial investments in our students by making higher education more affordable, including by increasing the value of the Pell Grant and expanding federal financial aid to eligible students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), temporary protected status (TPS), and deferred enforced departure (DED) status. To help students succeed in school and transition into a rewarding career, the Build Back Better Act provides funding for retention and completion grants. The bill also supports our teaching workforce by investing in grant programs to help train new teachers and address the teacher shortage. Additionally, the legislation also supports communities of color through targeted investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other Minority Serving Institutions. 

As Chair of the Education and Labor Committee's Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, I know students will be better equipped to succeed when they are no longer worrying about their next meal. The Build Back Better Act provides nine million more students free school meals through improving the Community Eligibility Provision, which is a significant step toward ending childhood hunger. 

The Build Back Better Act provides for greater access to high-quality, affordable health care and lowers costs for many Americans, especially our nation's seniors. The bill extends the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that were included in the American Rescue Plan, and lowers the cost of prescription drugs by finally allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for some drugs. The bill expands Medicare to cover the cost of hearing aids and makes home health care for elderly parents or loved ones with disabilities more affordable and accessible. It also includes significant resources for Older Americans Act meal programs and other senior services that I have long championed, particularly those supporting LGBTQ+ seniors and other underserved communities.  

The bill will allow work authorization and provide important protections from deportation for many immigrants who have been building lives in this country and contributing to our communities for more than a decade. The legislation will not provide the crucial path to citizenship that I have been advocating for, but this is significant progress that we can continue to build on.

Importantly, we are facing a code red climate emergency and the Build Back Better Act is the most significant climate bill to come before the U.S. House of Representatives. It provides long-term extensions for renewable energy tax credits, and for the first time, energy storage projects will qualify for investment tax credits. This bill also invests $29 billion in nonprofit, state, and local institutions that support rapid deployment of low- and zero-emission technologies, with a particular focus on low-income communities that historically have not received these types of investments. This legislation combats methane emissions, which account for one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, by creating a methane emissions reduction program to incentivize oil and gas companies to reduce their methane leaks.

The health of our ocean reflects the health of our planet. The Build Back Better Act makes a significant investment by providing $6 billion for habitat restoration projects to conserve, restore, and protect coastal and marine habitats, increasing these ecosystems' resilience to climate change. It also provides $500 million for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate research to improve our understanding of the interdependence of our nation's coasts, ocean, weather, and climate. Although there is still tremendous work needed to prevent national and global climate disaster, the Build Back Better Act makes transformational and unprecedented investments in combating climate change. 

The Build Back Better Act will also improve conditions for working Americans. It provides nearly $20 billion in funding for education and career training opportunities for underemployed and dislocated workers and fosters greater collaboration between industry, labor, nonprofits, and educational institutions to equip workers with skills training and post-training employment opportunities.  

This bill will also support families when they need to take leave from work. Currently, the U.S. is one of only six nations in the world without a national paid leave program. The Build Back Better act brings the United States in line with every other OECD country by providing workers with four weeks of paid family leave for childbirth, major illness recovery, and family caretaking responsibilities. 

Oregonians have long experienced pronounced challenges from the lack of affordable housing. The Build Back Better Act includes $150 billion to build and upgrade affordable housing stock and enhance rental assistance for low-income Americans. It also includes critical updates to and expands the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which will further incentivize affordable housing development. This funding will improve housing affordability, support people experiencing homelessness, and shrink the homeownership gap for people of color.   

Data reported by the United States Census Bureau found that the Child Tax Credit expansion that was included in the American Rescue Plan has already slashed taxes for millions of families and contributed significantly to reducing child hunger and housing insecurity. The Build Back Better Act builds upon this success by extending the enhanced Child Tax Credit for another year. 

And finally, The Build Back Better Act is fully paid for by making sure the wealthiest Americans and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes. 

The Build Back Better Act's historic investments will improve the lives of families and individuals, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and help our country rebuild after the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. And with the provisions to address the climate crisis, it will help bring about a better, healthier, and more secure future for Oregonians and Americans. For these reasons, I look forward to voting in favor of this bill.

I yield back.