Chairman McGovern Opens Debate on Build Back Better Act; Advancing Transformational Biden Agenda For The People

Chairman McGovern Opens Debate on Build Back Better Act; Advancing Transformational Biden Agenda For The People

“FDR Promised the People of America a New Deal built on Equality and Fairness – All These Years Later, This Congress is Working to Fulfill that Promise”

 

**Video of his remarks is available here**

 

WASHINGTON, DC — On the House Floor just now, House Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA) opened debate on the rule for H.R. 5376, President Biden’s Build Back Better Act. McGovern said that the bill “fulfilled the promise of President Roosevelt’s New Deal” by helping to uplift workers and everyday Americans while asking the rich and powerful to pay their fair share.

The Build Back Better Act will expand the basic promise of free schooling in America for the first time in 100 years with universal pre-school for all 3- and 4-year olds, extend the landmark Biden Child Tax Credit, expand access to affordable home care for older adults and those with disabilities, make the largest investment to combat the climate crisis in history, and lower health care costs by negotiating lower drug prices for seniors, stopping pharmaceutical companies from outrageous price hikes, and expanding the ACA to make coverage more affordable for those who buy insurance on their own. The Build Back Better Act also lowers costs and fights inflation because it is fully paid for by making big corporations & the wealthiest pay their fair share.  No one making under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes.

Highlights from Chairman McGovern’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are included below. Video is available here.

  • “M. Speaker, when Franklin Roosevelt stood before the American people in Chicago, Illinois and accepted the Democratic nomination for president 89 years ago. He promised them a New Deal—one built on equality and fairness. That work is bigger than a single president or a single era, and it continues to this day. All these years later, this Congress is working to fulfill that promise. We are now considering a bill that will transform the lives of most people in this country for the better.”
  • ‘M. Speaker, I have talked to so many of my constituents who are sick and tired of working hard but falling behind. All they want is a country and a Congress that looks out for their interests and puts their needs first. That is what the policies contained in this bill do. These are the kind of priorities that make me proud to be a Democrat. They are the kind of advancements that the American people have been demanding for decades.”
  • “The Build Back Better Act finally turns the page on four decades of failed trickle-down economics. And it invests in the people who built this country: in our workers, the middle class, and everyone fighting hard to get there.”
  • “At a time when the wealth gap between the richest and the poorest families in this country has more than doubled, this bill will stem the rising tide of income inequality bas asking those at the top to pay what they owe.”
  • “By expanding the Child Tax Credit, more than 35 million families with children will see their taxes go down. Older Americans and those with disabilities will also see expanded access to home care as part of this bill. People working two or three jobs to make ends meet—17 million of them – will have hope for a better future with access to an education that extends beyond high school. Parents of 3 and 4 year old kids can breathe a sigh of relief as they gain access to universal free pre-k, meaning that they can go to work safe in the knowledge that their kids are learning while they are earning. 9 million Americans will save money on their premiums through changes to the Affordable Care Act. And folks in states that have been cut out of healthcare— 4 million of them—will finally get health care because this bill closes the Medicaid coverage gap. By making the biggest investment ever to combat climate change, the Build Back Better Act will advance environmental justice and give more communities a fighting chance to respond to this crisis.”
  • “This bill accomplishes all of this while being fully paid for. It finally demands that the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. And importantly, it keeps the president’s promise not to raise taxes on those making under $400,000, not even one single penny. This is a seismic shift after my colleagues on the other side exploded the deficit to give tax cuts to the rich.”
  • “And let me just say this to all those Republicans who have been urging action on the COVID-caused supply chain issues. You should join us and support this bill! Because there are provisions here to bolster our supply chain and help us prepare for the next pandemic and future supply chain issues.”
  • “It’s about damn time that the wealthy were asked to pay their fair share. It’s about damn time that workers and small businesses got a tax break. And it’s about damn time we focus on the middle class for a change.” 
  • “My Republican friends may stand here today and complain about this process. But the truth is, 13 committees of jurisdiction have spent more than 165 hours marking up this legislation. They considered more than 850 amendments. And all that was before the Rules Committee did its work.”
  • “The committees have done their work. Members here in the House and across the Capitol have debated. The American people are demanding action.”
  • “Now is the time…Time for us to make real the promises of the New Deal. Time to put our government back on the side of the working people of this country. And time for us to deliver the agenda that the American people voted for last November.”

 

 

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Created:
Nov 5, 2021