Schneider Statement on House Passage of Build Back Better Act

November 19, 2021
Press Release

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) voted to pass the President's Build Back Better Act.

Congressman Schneider released the following statement:

"The Build Back Better Act will make bold transformative investments in the lives of everyday Americans. The bill will unquestionably enhance the future for our children, but also improve the here and now for their parents and grandparents: creating opportunities like universal pre-k, taking on national challenges by lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and giving working families a tax cut – all without adding to the deficit. I have said from the start that I want a bill that will address four things: climate change, kids and education, health care, and economic growth. This legislation robustly checks every box."

Significantly the Build Back Better Act would make major investments in:

CHILDREN:

  • Enacts Universal Pre-k: Universal and free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds
  • Saves Americans more than half of their spending on child care: The bill would ensure middle-class families would pay no more than 7 percent of their income on child care
  • Extends the American Rescue Plan's expanded Child Tax Credit, cutting taxes for working families and lifting millions of kids out of poverty

CLIMATECHANGE:

  • Invests $555 billion in fighting climate change, the largest ever single investment in our clean energy future
  • Creates well-paying clean energy jobs and ensures clean energy technologies like wind turbines are made here in the United States

HEALTH CARE:

  • Reduces prescription drug costs: Allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices, imposes a tax penalty on drug companies increasing prices faster than inflation, and directly lowers out-of-pocket costs for seniors.
  • Strengthens the Affordable Care Act and reduces premiums for 9 million Americans
  • Expands Medicare to cover hearing benefits

ECONOMY AND JOBS:

  • Expands access to affordable, high-quality education beyond high school: increasing the Pell Grant and helping more people access training at community and technical colleges to fill high-wage job openings.
  • Makes the largest investment in affordable housing in history
  • Extends the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for around 17 million low-wage workers
  • Restores the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction for millions of middle class families

Key Schneider provisions included in the Build Back Better Act include:

  • Restoring tax fairness through the State and Local Tax Deduction
  • Giving a tax cut to working families through the Child Tax Credit
  • Fighting climate change with the Sustainable Skies Act, which would create a tax credit starting at $1.50 per gallon for blenders that supply sustainable aviation fuel with a demonstrated 50% or greater lifecycle estimate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard jet fuel
  • Making health care more accessible by ensuring sustainable career pathways through Health Profession Opportunity Grantsto support low-income workers who seek training and education for in-demand health care careers
  • Funding for teaching health centers operating graduate medical education
  • Bolstering domestic energy supply chains by supporting domestic onshore wind manufacturing

###