Build Back Better Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Build Back Better Act, a once-in-a-generation investment to lower the everyday costs that burden working families and adequately address the climate crisis. This bold, progressive bill at the core of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda will have a positive impact on every single American family.

The legislation delivers the largest investment in childcare and early education in history. Build Back Better is estimated to provide access to childcare for nearly one million young children in New York. I am proud that the bill also provides universal, high-quality, free preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old in America. Today, only 25 percent of young children in New York have access to publicly funded preschool, and the costs for those that can't enter publicly funded programs are often crippling. I am thrilled that nearly 300,000 young children in New York will now be able to attend preschool. The bill also will provide over two million students in New York with resources to purchase school meals.

The Build Back Better Act will also improve the lives of working families by expanding rental assistance and affordable housing, establishing paid family and medical leave, extending the Child Tax Credit, extending the American Rescue Plan's Earned Income Tax Credit, and finally addressing the unfair SALT Deduction caps.

I am also pleased that this historic legislation will lower prescription drug costs for millions of Americans by finally negotiating lower drug prices for seniors, stopping outrageous price hikes in prescription drugs, setting a new $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription costs for seniors, and capping the cost of life-saving insulin at $35 per month. The bill will further lower health care costs for Americans by passing the largest expansion of the Affordable Care Act in a decade to make coverage more affordable, expanding Medicaid coverage and eligibility, and expanding access to affordable home care for older adults and those with disabilities.

Finally, I am incredibly proud that the Build Back Better Act contains the single largest investment to combat the climate crisis in human history. This historic bill includes a $500 billion investment in clean energy and climate to cut greenhouse pollution by well over one gigaton in 2030, reduce home energy costs, create hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs, and advance environmental justice for those communities on the frontline of the climate crisis. The bill will also provide a vital boost to New York's climate resilience and preparedness efforts to safeguard the city from future Superstorm Sandy level storms.

Best of all, the historic investments included in the Build Back Better Act are not only fully paid for, the Treasury Department estimates that the bill will reduce the deficit by over $100 billion over a decade.

This historic legislation will ensure that our workers and families are no longer held back by high costs or lack of access. For too long, we have failed to invest properly in everyday people. Instead, we have allowed big corporations and the wealthy to access all the resources this Nation has to offer without paying their fair share. This stops here. By passing President Biden's agenda into law, we have set our Nation on a course to meet its climate goals, create millions of good- paying jobs, relieve working families struggling to afford the growing costs of raising children, and grow our economy. I urge my colleagues to vote yea on this transformative legislation.

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