Build Back Better Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, Congressional Democrats have been focused on working with President Biden to deliver long overdue investments for the American people and for our future.

We started earlier this year with the American Jobs Act, which got critical resources, including vaccines, into our communities and put money in people's pockets. We helped struggling businesses and schools, and we did so much more.

Now, we are on the cusp of passing two bills that will enormously improve the lives of all Americans, the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These two bills together will rebuild America's aging and failing infrastructure, create jobs, cut taxes and lower costs for families, protect and recognize the contributions of immigrants, tackle the climate crisis, and so much more.

Mr. Speaker, my district of El Paso, Texas, has long suffered from chronic poverty due to lack of access to many resources and economic opportunities.

On healthcare, my State of Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the Nation. In my community of El Paso, a quarter of my residents have absolutely no health insurance whatsoever.

On climate, El Paso has seen the second highest increase in average temperatures over the past 45 years with the number of 100-degree days predicted to double.

On family care, nearly half of the people, 48 percent of the people, live in a childcare desert with no access to childcare whatsoever.

On education, in my State of Texas your education and the amount of money invested in K-12 kids depends on your ZIP Code and where you live.

The historic investments that we will be making with both of these bills will strengthen healthcare access to Texas families by expanding Medicare coverage for those who have been denied. They will protect our communities from the consequences of the climate crisis by helping us lower emissions, advancing a clean energy economy, and advancing environmental justice.

These bills will support families with the child tax credit, which will benefit 173,000 children in El Paso alone, in addition to the investments in childcare, home healthcare, paid family and medical leave, workforce development, and universal pre-K, which is probably the best predictor for school success and for kids who end up going to college. My community needs that. My kids in El Paso deserve that.

Americans everywhere need this health and support, and they need it now. These investments are fully paid for. They will not add to the deficit, and because these expenditures represent less than one percent of our GDP over the next decade, and because they are paid for in part by making corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share, the Build Back Better Act will not increase inflation.

I am so proud to have played a role in crafting these bills. I am so proud to advance them and ensure that they uplift El Paso families, improve our economy, and help save our planet.

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