November 19, 2021

Cárdenas Votes to Pass Historic Build Back Better Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) voted to pass the Build Back Better Act, which delivers once-in-a-generation action to bring down the everyday costs that burden San Fernando Valley families.  This landmark legislation creates good paying jobs, cuts middle class taxes and lowers the costs of health care, child care and family care – fully paid for by asking the wealthiest few and biggest corporations to pay their fair share.

“When President Biden took office, Democrats made a commitment that we would Build Back Better for every family in America, including those right here in the San Fernando Valley,” said Congressman Cárdenas. “This historic legislation is the very embodiment of the American Dream — the dream that helps every single one of us not just survive but succeed now and in the long run. The Build Back Better Act will be a game-changer for Valley families because it reaffirms our basic values that if you have the will, you should be given the chance and the tools to get ahead and achieve real economic security. Today, I proudly voted for this landmark legislation, which will make a lasting difference for all working families.”

The legislation includes two Cárdenas-led provisions that tackle the climate crisis with $5 billion for grants and rebates to help fund zero-emission emission heavy-duty vehicles and $7 billion for grants to help low-income communities access solar panels

In addition, the Build Back Better Act:

  • Lowers Health Care Costs:
    • Empowers Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs for seniors.
    • Ensures Americans with diabetes don’t pay more than $35 per month for their insulin.
    • Creates a new, out-of-pocket cap of $2,000 on what seniors pay for their drugs in Medicare Part D.
    • Lowers premiums dramatically for those who buy insurance on their own through the Affordable Care Act.
    • Extends affordable coverage through the Affordable Care Act to millions of Americans in states that have refused to expand Medicaid. 
    • Expands Medicare to make hearing care more affordable for seniors.
  • Lowers Child Care and Family Care Costs: 
    • Saves most families more than half their current spending on child care, ensuring the vast majority of families will have to pay no more than 7 percent of their income for child care. Expands 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.
    • Establishes a universal and permanent paid family and medical leave program, providing four weeks of paid parental, family caregiving, and medical leave.
    • Gives more than 35 million families a major tax cut by extending the Biden Child Tax Credit.
    • Expands access to high-quality home care for older adults and people with disabilities.
    • Cuts the cost of postsecondary education, with such steps as increasing the maximum Pell Grant. 
    • Reduces families’ housing costs and expands housing options. 
  • Makes the most consequential investment to combat the climate crisis in U.S. history: 
    • Invests $555 billion over 10 years in historic clean energy and climate investments.
    • Creates green tax credits that will save the average American family hundreds of dollars per year in energy costs. 
    • Ensures clean energy technology will be built in the United States, creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs here at home. 
    • Delivers substantial consumer rebates and ensure families save money as they shift to clean energy and electrification.
    • Cuts the cost of installing rooftop solar for a home by around 30 percent.
    • Funds clean, zero emission school buses. 
    • Help communities prepare for smoke from wildfires, reduce risks of smoke exposure due to wildfires and mitigate the health and environmental effects of wildfires.
  • Transform the lives of everyday families:
    • Includes temporary protections  and work permits for folks who entered the U.S. prior to 2011. This means that 7 million immigrants could be eligible for these protections. In California, roughly 1.5 million would be protected.
    • Increases Pell Grants for more the more than 5 million students enrolled in public and private, non-profit colleges and expands access to DREAMers.
    • Helps children reach their full potential by investing in nutrition security year-round. 
    • Invest $20 billion for workforce development and other paid job training programs. 

Importantly, this legislation is fully paid-for, which will both grow the economy and fight inflation. As seventeen Nobel Prize-winning economists recently wrote in support of this legislation: “Because this agenda invests in long-term economic capacity and will enhance the ability of more Americans to participate productively in the economy, it will ease longer-term inflationary pressures.”  In fact, according to the estimates of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. Treasury, Build Back Better even reduces the deficit by more than $100 billion over the first ten years.

“I urge my colleagues in the Senate to vote on this historic legislation and send it to the Presidents desk as quickly as possible,” continued Congressman Cárdenas. 

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