Rep. Schrier Votes to Pass Historic Build Back Better Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) voted to pass the Build Back Better Act, which will bring down the cost of health care and prescription drugs, set the United States on course to meet its climate goals, create millions of family wage jobs, and ensure families have access to affordable, quality child care and pre-K.
"As a mom and pediatrician, I've seen firsthand the urgent need for a historic investment in middle class families to ease the growing burdens they are facing. That's why I am delighted that the Build Back Better Act not only makes significant investments in America's future, it lowers costs for working families by extending the monthly Child Tax Credit, capping the cost of child care, and setting every child up for lifelong success with universal preschool," said Rep. Schrier. "This bill will also make health care more affordable for Washingtonians by capping prescription drug costs for seniors, lowering premiums for people who buy insurance on their own, and stopping drug companies from price gouging."
The Build Back Better Act will make generational investments including:
Early Education: Right now, only 22% of 3- and 4-year-olds in Washington state have access to publicly funded pre-K, while the average cost of private pre-K in the state is $8,600. The Build Back Better Act will expand access to free, high-quality pre-K for all Washington children
Tax Cut for Middle Class Families: The Build Back Better Act extends the enhanced Child Tax Credit for another year to give almost 80% of 8th District families a tax cut, and make it available as a monthly benefit of up to $300 per month per child under 6, and up to $250 per month for each child 6 - 17 years old.
Health Care: The Build Back Better Act will save Washingtonians thousands of dollars each year by capping ACA health insurance premiums so no family pays more than 8.5% of their income on premiums, expanding Medicare to cover hearing aids, and making reforms to crack down on drug companies and ensure seniors can afford their medications.
Lowers insulin prices so people with diabetes pay no more than $35 per month
Caps drug costs for older Americans at $2,000/year
Gives Medicare the power to negotiate the best price for the most expensive medications
Holds down drug prices for everyone by penalizing companies that raise their prices faster than inflation
Child Care: The average annual cost for childcare in Washington state is $16,000! The Build Back Better Act will help families afford childcare by ensuring that families making less than $200,000 per year will pay no more than 7% of their income on childcare. This means the parents of 470,178 young children in Washington will save an average of $5,000 per year and can afford to go back to work.
Combating Climate Change: From 2010 to 2020, Washington experienced 10 extreme weather events, costing up to $5 billion in damages. And as climate change worsens, wildfires are getting hotter and more destructive. The Build Back Better Act sets the United States on course to meet its climate targets of 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. And it will create family wage jobs and grow domestic manufacturing industries to support clean energy technology.
Represents the largest-ever single investment in our clean energy economy—across buildings, transportation, industry, electricity, agriculture, and climate smart practices in our lands and waters
Strengthens U.S. manufacturing and supply chains for critical goods, benefiting American businesses, workers, consumers, and communities
Rep. Schrier continued, "As we face the increasing threat of climate change, significant investments in forest management, wildland firefighting and mitigation, and agriculture research will allow for better wildfire preparedness and help specialty crop farmers. This legislation also includes electric vehicle tax credits and other rebates that help save families money while moving our country toward a cleaner, more energy efficient future. This bill will create jobs in the 8th district, cut middle class taxes, and give our communities and working families the tools they need to thrive."
Wildfire Preparedness: The Build Back Better Act makes the most significant investment in history for forest management to ensure Washington state has healthy, resilient forests.
Includes $14 billion for prescribed fire and thinning, provisions Rep. Schrier championed in her National Prescribed Fire Act
$450 million for Legacy Roads and Trails program. Rep. Schrier introduced bipartisan legislation and led Congressional efforts to fund this program, including $250 million authorized in the recently-signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Supports local fire departments with $150 million for State Fire Assistance and Volunteer Assistance Programs
$775 million for Wood Innovation Grants, which could support efforts in Chelan County to develop a small-diameter sawmill, helping forests and creating jobs and building materials
Child Nutrition: More than 230,000 children in Washington live in households that struggle with hunger. The Build Back Better Act builds on Rep. Schrier's previous work to ensure all kids have a healthy start by expanding access to school meals and healthy food in the summer.
Cuts red tape to make it easier for schools to serve lunch to any child who needs it
Expands the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) program to provide more than 481,000 Washington students with resources to purchase food over the summer when they may not be able to otherwise rely on school meals
Agriculture Research and Protecting Salmon:
$1 billion for Pacific salmon conservation and habitat restoration
$60 million for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. Since March 2019, Rep. Schrier has been a major champion of SCRI funding to support specialty crop producers and researchers
The Build Back Better Act now moves to the Senate for a vote.