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Floor Speech

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Ms. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, for her remarks; Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence; and my leader, my friend, my sister, and my mentor who is the chairwoman of the CBC, Joyce Beatty.

As I rise to make my first CBC Special Order hour speech, I would first like to thank my esteemed Congressional Black Caucus colleagues for welcoming me with open arms after I was sworn in as their newest member days ago; for playing a critical role getting the bipartisan infrastructure bill across the finish line, and for shining the spotlight today on another critical piece of the President's agenda, the Build Back Better Act.

Madam Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus is often called the conscience of the Congress for good reason. The bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law today by President Biden is a historic win for our economy, our communities, and the people of my district and from across this Nation.

Its provisions, from rebuilding our roads and bridges to expanding broadband access and ensuring every person has access to safe drinking water, are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. That is why politicians have talked about getting infrastructure done for years. But today, with critical support from the CBC, we are delivering results--real results--for the people.

But our work does not end there. We know the many challenges that have been holding families and our economy back for generations: high healthcare costs, lack of access to affordable childcare, rising prescription drug prices, students locked out of higher education opportunities, and shameful increases in food and housing insecurity. We know that Black communities have been disproportionately impacted by these many challenges for far too long.

The answer to these challenges is not just more failed tax giveaways for huge corporations. The answer is to make investments in families to improve their lives, boost their paychecks, and lower their kitchen table costs.

The Build Back Better Act delivers desperately needed action to tackle these challenges and lower the everyday costs that burden working families. It lowers healthcare costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs for seniors and expanding the ACA to bring down rising premiums. It provides universal preschool for all 3- to 4- year-olds giving every student a chance to have a head start. It expands access to higher education by raising the maximum Pell grant and making large investments in HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions. It includes critical provisions to ensure no child goes hungry and every American has a roof over their head.

Our task now is to pass a bill that reflects the President's agenda and our values: to promote equity, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to find a good-paying job, and to put money back in the pockets of American families by lowering the costs of living. Together with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Build Back Better agenda is going to create millions of jobs, reduce poverty, and rebuild the backbone of our country--the middle class. This is what delivering for the American people looks like.

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