[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6260-H6264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                             BREAKING NEWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Leger Fernandez). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson Lee) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to submit statements into the 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, breaking news. Today, the President 
of the United States signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, 
legislation that our chairwoman and the Congressional Black Caucus were 
instrumental in moving forward.
  But breaking news: The President, Vice President, and Speaker of the 
House made it very clear that we will pass the Build Back Better Act, 
and that they are two bills that go together. And so tonight, I am 
delighted to join the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus to 
discuss the pathway and the vitality of the Build Back Better Act.
  There is one thing that I want to immediately speak to. Pell grants 
that is part of the Build Back Better will be an instrumental component 
to increasing the number of students at community colleges, 
historically Black colleges, and other colleges--minority-serving 
institutions--more than they have ever had the opportunity.
  Madam Speaker, in 2021, there are still families that are sending 
their first generation to college. The Pell grants--unlike which was 
discussed just a few minutes ago--will give Americans and legal 
residents the opportunity to go to school, and many others who are DACA 
and are deserving of going to school to build a better future.
  Madam Speaker, I will speak very briefly on how important the Build 
Back Better Act is, and to emphasize that it is often said that the 
Federal budget is an expression of the Nation's values. Build Back 
Better is an expression of our values, of our respect, and affection 
for our families and our children. It is long overdue.
  And even though we are excited about the infrastructure bill that 
will bring some $26.9 billion in transportation to Texas, some $3.3 
billion in ensuring the improvement of public transportation, making 
sure there is $100 million for broadband, and making sure that we have 
clean water--and that is in the $2.9 billion from the infrastructure 
bill. I can tell you that Texans and Americans are excited about the 
Build Back Better. African Americans who have suffered with poverty and 
inequities will stand at the forefront in helping to end poverty as we 
know it in our communities.

  Madam Speaker, I am grateful to Chair Beatty for her leadership and 
was eager to join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to 
stand together to support this $1.75 trillion investment.
  Very quickly: The bill is paid for. No one making under $400,000 will 
see any taxes go up at this time. In addition, $130 billion will be 
provided for healthcare.
  Breaking news: If you are uninsured in States that never expanded 
Medicaid, you will have insurance; huge numbers of African Americans. 
Over 30 percent of seniors over the age of 70 can benefit from hearing 
aids as well. We know the Build Back Better bill will give us an 
additional amount of resources for uninsured persons and provide the 
access to the Affordable Care Act.
  Childcare, which impacts African Americans, the Build Back Better Act 
will provide universal and free preschool for three- to four-year-olds 
and cut down the amount of dollars that many young working families 
have to pay. I am excited about the fact that we will be able to have 
working parents, they will be looking for work, but they will have the 
ability to have their children taken care of, and they won't pay more 
than 7 percent of their income for childcare; $150 billion.
  Madam Speaker, this weekend, I was at my public housing, public 
development. Families, they are going to see a new makeover, more 
housing built, and more down payments.
  In fact, I am very grateful to say that we won't see these signs: 
``My landlord is calling and I must pay.'' How many were evicted 
because dollars were not getting to people who worked hard every day 
but yet, because of the pandemic and other factors, could not pay their 
rent.

                              {time}  1930

  We will see that ended with the $150 billion for housing; education, 
$40 billion; and, of course, the Pell grants, as I said.
  It is important to take note of the fact that poverty among Africa 
Americans will decrease seismically, particularly with the child tax 
credit that will end poverty as we know it among the impoverished 
children of America.
  Again, I said, breaking news, the President signed the bipartisan 
infrastructure bill with the help of the Congressional Black Caucus.
  Breaking news, we are committed to leading on helping to pass Build 
Back Better with all of our Democratic colleagues, and Madam Speaker, I 
don't think that we would be against our bipartisan colleagues joining 
us.
  Let me conclude by saying that I am delighted to know this family at 
the Gingerbread daycare, founded by a husband and wife, for hardworking 
essential workers. How wonderful it will be that 3- to 4-year-olds can 
have universal access to school and childcare and can now be supported 
by the Build Back Better Act and paid family leave.
  Breaking news, we are changing hearts and changing America, and I am 
delighted to yield to our chair and thank her for her leadership. Keep 
on leading. We are going to keep on standing so that we can pass the 
Build Back Better Act this week. I am going to claim it. We say that 
sometimes in our community.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).
  Mrs. BEATTY. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand here 
tonight as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. To be here at such 
a critical point in our country, in our democracy, on the heels of 
leaving the South Lawn of the White House where hundreds of people 
gathered in honor of supporting the $1.2 trillion bipartisan 
infrastructure framework needed when we think about our roads and our 
bridges and our broadband.
  Tonight, we are so honored to be here. To our chair of this night's 
Special Order hour, ``Breaking News,'' I thank Congresswoman Sheila 
Jackson Lee, who is anchoring tonight and yielding to me.
  Madam Speaker, let me just take this point of personal privilege to 
thank her. I thank her for her leadership and say to her and all of her 
constituents watching: Texas is all the better because of Congresswoman 
Sheila Jackson Lee. When I think of someone leading and talking about 
Build Back Better, talking about how great this is for America, thank 
you for being part of that leadership.
  Now, tonight, let me simply say, Madam Speaker, when I look to build 
back better, I see the faces of the Congressional Black Caucus, six 
chairs of major committees. So let me do breaking news.
  Breaking news, when we look to build back better housing, we know, 
across America, that we have a housing problem. We know that we needed 
more dollars going into housing, vouchers, and affordable housing.
  Breaking news, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, chair of the powerful 
Financial Services Committee under which housing and insurance falls, 
she was iconic in her leadership, from the White House to the Speaker, 
working both sides of the aisle, and, yes, $150 billion.
  When I think of Congressman  Bobby Scott, I think of education and 
labor. There has not been a stronger voice in the Congress than  Bobby 
Scott in the Congressional Black Caucus. You heard earlier from 
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Pell grants, HBCUs, historically 
Black colleges and universities, billions of dollars going into our 
universities.
  Madam Speaker, let me take a point of personal privilege because I am 
a proud graduate of an HBCU, so I know what this means to young girls 
and boys and men and women who are matriculating in our HBCUs. We 
cannot have a democracy in a country without protecting our children. 
When we talk

[[Page H6261]]

about the child tax credit, when we talk about universal childcare, 
this is so critical.
  Breaking news, $400 billion--I want to say that again, $400 billion--
into childcare, taking some 40 percent of our children out of poverty.
  We know how important our climate is to us, and if we didn't, if you 
were out on that South Lawn today, you clearly understood climate 
change. Madam Speaker, $555 billion is in for climate change.
  I am going to have other colleagues come today, and we are going to 
hear how important it is when we talk about taking lead out of our 
water, what that does for our children, for our families, for the 
environment.
  Breaking news, $1.7 trillion is in Build Back Better.
  Earlier, one of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus said to 
me, ``Tell our story.'' Well, you see, our fingerprints and footprints 
are all through this $1.75 trillion, and if you don't claim it, people 
don't know it. So, I want everyone to know that the Congressional Black 
Caucus is so proud of Our Power, Our Message because we understand that 
our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power.
  Tonight is so important for us to say: $1.75 trillion, Build Back 
Better; $1.2 trillion, bipartisan infrastructure framework. It was the 
Congressional Black Caucus that asked for a seat at the table.
  The late Congressman John Lewis always said: If you see something, 
say something. So, Madam Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus 
decided that we were going to say something. We were going to say 
something to make sure that all of our friends and colleagues came 
together so we could do what is great for America, and that is what we 
have done.
  Let me say these closing remarks as we then call on our other 
colleagues. Let me simply say that I am honored to serve in the United 
States Congress, but I am extremely humbled and privileged and honored 
to be the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in our 50th year of 
existence with the largest membership and the oldest of the caucuses in 
the Congress.
  Madam Speaker, chair of our Special Order hour, Our Power, Our 
Message, we are the Congressional Black Caucus.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, what a grand statement from our chair 
who has captured the leadership of this entire body.
  As I conclude my remarks, I just wanted to say, Madam Speaker, to the 
chair, this is what you are doing and what we are doing by pushing 
Build Back Better and putting our stamp on it.
  Madam Speaker, 22.1 percent of Black people fall below the poverty 
line, struggling to pay expenses like food, rent, healthcare, and 
transportation for their families. But with the child tax cut, the 
Build Back Better Act provides a major tax cut to nearly 3 million 
Black people and cuts the Black poverty rate by 34.3 percent, which 
will help the 85 percent of Black women who are either sole or co-
breadwinners for their families.
  I am very pleased to be on the floor of the House with you, showing 
what will happen to many in the Black community who are out and about 
working and helping. This bill will help them, and it will help all of 
America. It will help those minorities who are in need.
  May I say: Our Power, Our Message. I always like to say: Our Power, 
Our Message. That is what we are tonight, and I am delighted to have 
been able to join her at this time.
  Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, 
on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, and the Congressional Black 
Caucus, I am pleased to co-anchor this Congressional Black Caucus 
Special Order with my colleague, the distinguished gentleman from New 
York, Congressman Ritchie Torres.
  I thank the Chair of the CBC, Congresswoman Beatty of Ohio, for 
organizing this Special Order to discuss the reasons why the CBC 
strongly supports the $1.75 billion Build Back Better Act conceived and 
advanced by President Biden and House Democrats to support visionary 
and transformative investments in the health, well-being, and financial 
security of America's workers and families.
  Over the next hour, several of our colleagues will share their 
perspectives on why it is essential that we ``go big'' in building back 
better to our Nation and all of its people have the opportunities and 
resources to compete and win in the changing global economy of the 21st 
century.
  Madam Speaker, it is often said that the federal budget is an 
expression of the Nation's values and the investments made to Build 
America Back Better are a clear declaration of congressional Democrats' 
commitment to ensuring that our government, our economy, and our 
systems work For The People.
  Madam Speaker, these long-overdue investments in America's future 
will be felt in every corner of the country and across every sector of 
American life, building on the success of the American Rescue Plan, 
accommodating historic infrastructure investments in the legislative 
pipeline, and addressing longstanding deficits in our communities by 
ending an era of chronic underinvestment so we can emerge from our 
current crises a stronger, more equitable Nation.
  Madam Speaker, the bipartisan action we took in February 2021 when we 
passed the American Rescue Plan was a giant step in the right 
direction, but it was a targeted response to the immediate and urgent 
public health and economic crises; it was not a long-term solution to 
many of the pressing challenges facing our Nation that have built up 
over decades of disinvestment in our Nation and its people in every 
region and sector of the country.
  We simply can no longer afford the costs of neglect and inaction; the 
time to act is now.
  The Build Back Better Act makes the transformative investments that 
we need to continue growing our economy, lower costs for working 
families, and position the United States as a global leader in 
innovation and the jobs of the future.
  This $1.75 trillion gross investment will build on the successes of 
the American Rescue Plan and set our Nation on a path of fiscal 
responsibility and broadly shared prosperity for generations to come.
  The Build Back Better Act will provide resources to improve our 
education, health, and child care systems, invest in clean energy and 
sustainability, address the housing crisis, and more, all while setting 
America up to compete and win in the decades ahead.
  The Build Back Better Act is paid for by ensuring that the wealthy 
and big corporations are paying their fair share and Americans making 
less than $400,000 a year will not see their taxes increase by a penny.
  Let me repeat that: Americans making less than $400,000 a year will 
not see their taxes increase by a penny.
  In sum, Madam Speaker, the investments made by the Build Back Better 
Act will expand opportunity for all and build an economy powered by 
shared prosperity and inclusive growth.
  No one is better prepared or more experienced to lead the American 
renaissance that will be produced by the investments made by the Build 
Back Better Act than President Biden, the architect of the American 
Rescue Plan and who as Vice-President during the Obama Administration 
oversaw the implementation of the Recovery Act, which saved millions of 
jobs and rescued our economy from the Great Recession the Nation 
inherited from a previous Republican administration.
  And let us not forget that President Obama also placed his confidence 
in his vice-president to oversee the rescue of the automotive industry, 
which he did so well that the American car industry fully recovered its 
status as the world leader.
  Madam Speaker, one aspect of the Build Back Better Act that does not 
get enough attention is the fact, as documented by the Department of 
the Treasury, that the legislation will generate more than $2 trillion 
in fiscal savings.
  These savings come from ensuring large multinational corporations and 
wealthy Americans pay their fair share and reducing the cost of 
prescription drugs.
  These provisions will not raise taxes on any taxpayer making less 
than $400,000.
  As a result of these changes, the ability of large corporations to 
shift profits abroad will be substantially limited, and the race to the 
bottom in corporate taxation will no longer be a driving force 
weakening capital taxation.
  In short, the Build Back Better Act under consideration in the House 
of Representatives will be fully paid for and reduce the deficit.
  Madam Speaker, let me briefly highlight some of the key investments 
made by the Build Back Better Act:
  The Build Back Better Act expands access to quality, affordable 
health care by strengthening the Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable 
Care Act (ACA) Marketplace programs that millions of Americans already 
rely on.
  It includes a major new expansion of Medicare benefits, adding a 
hearing benefit to the program for the very first time.
  Only 30 percent of seniors over the age of 70 who could benefit from 
hearing aids have ever used them.
  The Build Back Better Act strengthens the Affordable Care Act and 
reduces premiums for 9 million Americans who buy insurance through the 
Affordable Care Act Marketplace by an average of $600 per person per 
year.

[[Page H6262]]

  Just for example, a family of four earning $80,000 per year would 
save nearly $3,000 per year (or $246 per month) on health insurance 
premiums and experts predict that more than 3 million people who would 
otherwise be uninsured will gain health insurance.
  The Build Back Better Act closes the Medicaid coverage gap, leading 4 
million uninsured people to gain coverage.
  The Build Back Better Act will deliver health care coverage through 
Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to up to 4 million uninsured 
people in states that have locked them out of Medicaid.
  A 40-year-old in the coverage gap would have to pay $450 per month 
for benchmark coverage--more than half of their income in many cases, 
but thanks to the Build Back Better Act individuals would pay $0 
premiums, finally making health care affordable and accessible.
  The Build Back Better Act strengthens the ACA by extending the 
enhanced Marketplace subsidies that were included in the American 
Rescue Plan.
  It also provides an affordable coverage option for the more than two 
million Americans living in states that have not expanded Medicaid 
under the ACA and do not earn enough to qualify for Marketplace 
subsidies.
  When the Build Back Better Act is fully implemented, soon gone will 
be the terrible old days when too many Americans are forced to choose 
between medical care and putting food on the table or affording other 
necessities.
  Madam Speaker, approximately 3.9 million Black people were uninsured 
in 2019 before President Biden took office and even with the Affordable 
Care Act's premium subsidies, coverage under the ACA was too expensive 
for many families, and over 570,000 Black people fell into the Medicaid 
``coverage gap'' and were locked out of coverage because their state 
refused to expand Medicaid.
  The Build Back Better Act closes the Medicaid coverage gap while also 
lowering health care costs for those buying coverage through the ACA by 
extending the American Rescue Plan's lower premiums, which could save 
360,000 Black people an average of $50 per person per month.
  With these changes, more than one in three uninsured Black people 
could gain coverage, and with the addition of hearing coverage, more 
than 5.8 million Black people on Medicare will benefit.
  The Build Back Better Act will make an historic investment in 
maternal health, including for Black women, who die from complications 
related to pregnancy at three times the rate of white women.
  Madam Speaker, the cost of preschool in the United States exceeds 
$8,600 per year on average, and for as long as we can remember, child 
care prices in the United States have risen faster than family incomes, 
yet the United States still invests 28 times less than its competitors 
on helping families afford high-quality care for toddlers.
  The Build Back Better Act supports families in need of child care by 
providing access to safe, reliable, and high-quality care delivered by 
a well-trained child care workforce.
  The Build Back Better Act will provide universal and free preschool 
for all 3- and 4-year-olds.
  This is the largest expansion of universal and free education since 
states and communities across the country established public high 
school 100 years ago.
  This is important because our Nation is strongest when everyone can 
join the workforce and contribute to the economy.
  That is why this investment is vital to so many millions of people--
especially women--who are often forced to choose between working to 
support their family or caring for their family.
  The Build Back Better Act will ensure that the vast majority of 
working American families of four earning less than $300,000 per year 
will pay no more than 7 percent of their income on child care for 
children under 6.
  Under the Build Back Better Act, parents who are working, looking for 
work, participating in an education or training program, and who are 
making under 2.5 times their states median income will receive support 
to cover the cost of quality care based on a sliding scale, capped at 7 
percent of their income.
  The Build Back Better Act will help states expand access to high-
quality, affordable child care to about 20 million children per year--
covering 9 out of 10 families across the country with young children.
  For two parents with one toddler earning $100,000 per year, the Build 
Back Better Act will produce more than $5,000 in child care savings per 
year.
  In addition, the Build Back Better Act promotes nutrition security to 
support children's health and help children reach their full potential 
by investing in nutrition security year-round.
  The legislation will expand free school meals to 8.7 million children 
during the school year and provide a $65 per child per month benefit to 
the families of 29 million children to purchase food during the summer.
  The Build Back Better Act will deliver affordable, high-quality care 
for older Americans and people with disabilities in their homes, while 
supporting the workers who provide this care.
  Right now, there are hundreds of thousands of older Americans and 
Americans with disabilities on waiting lists for home care services or 
struggling to afford the care they need, including more than 800,000 
who are on state Medicaid waiting lists.
  A family paying for home care costs out of pocket currently pays 
around $5,800 per year for just four hours of home care per week.
  The Build Back Better Act will permanently improve Medicaid coverage 
for home care services for seniors and people with disabilities, making 
the most transformative investment in access to home care in 40 years, 
when these services were first authorized for Medicaid.
  The Build Back Better Act will improve the quality of caregiving 
jobs, which will, in turn, help to improve the quality of care provided 
to beneficiaries.
  Madam Speaker, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that the 
Build Back Better Act will also reduce the cost of home-based care for 
the hundreds of thousands of older Black adults and Black people with 
disabilities who need it and are unable to access it.
  Not to mention that investment in home care will raise wages for home 
care workers, 28 percent of whom are Black.
  In the area of housing, the Build Back Better Act makes investments 
to ensure that Americans have access to safe and affordable housing by 
providing resources to increase housing vouchers and funding for tribal 
housing.
  It also supports investments in programs that will help address our 
Nation's housing crisis by increasing the supply of affordable homes 
for those in need and investing in historically underserved communities 
and those that have been previously left behind.
  Specifically, the Build Back Better Act makes the single largest and 
most comprehensive investment in affordable housing in history and will 
enable the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of more than 1 
million affordable homes, boosting housing supply and reducing price 
pressures for renters and homeowners.
  It will address the capital needs of the public housing stock in big 
cities and rural communities all across America and ensure it is not 
only safe and habitable but healthier and more energy efficient as 
well.
  It will make a historic investment in rental assistance, expanding 
vouchers to hundreds of thousands of additional families.
  And, perhaps even more importantly, the Build Back Better Act 
includes one of the largest investments in down payment assistance in 
history, enabling hundreds of thousands of first-generation homebuyers 
to purchase their first home and build wealth.
  In short, Madam Speaker, this legislation will create more equitable 
communities, through investing in community-led redevelopment projects 
in historically under-resourced neighborhoods and removing lead paint 
from hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as by incentivizing state 
and local zoning reforms that enable more families to reside in higher 
opportunity neighborhoods.
  The Build Back Better Act will provide two years of free pre-K and 
two years of free community college to ensure every student has the 
tools, resources, and opportunity to succeed in life.
  It will also invest in our teachers and institutions that serve 
minority students and provide funding to give school buildings long-
overdue infrastructure updates.
  People lead happier, healthier, and more productive lives when they 
have had access to high-quality education and that is why the Build 
Back Better Act makes necessary investments to increase quality 
education by four years for all students at no cost to hard-working 
families.
  The Build Back Better Act expands access to affordable, high-quality 
education beyond high school, which is increasingly important for 
economic growth and competitiveness in the 21st century.
  Specifically, the Build Back Better Act will increase the maximum 
Pell Grant by $550 for the more than 5 million students enrolled in 
public and private, non-profit colleges and expand access to DREAMers.
  It will also make historic investments in Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and 
minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to build capacity, modernize 
research infrastructure, and provide financial aid to low-income 
students.
  The Build Back Better Act will help more people access quality 
training that leads to good, union, and middle-class jobs and will 
enable community colleges to train hundreds of thousands of students, 
create sector-based

[[Page H6263]]

training opportunity with in-demand training for at least hundreds of 
thousands of workers, and invest in proven approaches like Registered 
Apprenticeships and programs to support underserved communities.
  The Build Back Better Act will increase the Labor Department's annual 
spending on workforce development by 50 percent for each of the next 5 
years.
  The Build Back Better Act will spur and empower comprehensive action 
to build an equitable clean energy economy with historic investments to 
transform and modernize the electricity sector, lower energy costs for 
Americans, improve air quality and public health, create good-paying 
jobs, and strengthen U.S. competitiveness--all while putting our 
country on the pathway to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035.
  The Build Back Better Act extends and expands clean energy tax 
credits and supports clean electricity performance payments so 
utilities can accelerate progress toward a clean electric grid at no 
added cost to consumers.
  The Build Back Better Act invests in clean energy, efficiency, 
electrification, and climate justice through grants, consumer rebates, 
and federal procurement of clean power and sustainable materials, and 
by incentivizing private sector development and investment.
  Another exciting aspect of the Build Back Better Act, Madam Speaker, 
is that it will drive economic opportunities, environmental 
conservation, and climate resilience--especially in underserved and 
disadvantaged communities--including through a new Civilian Climate 
Corps.
  Madam Speaker, the Build Back Better Act includes a $100 billion 
investment to reform our broken immigration system--and does it 
consistent with the Senate's reconciliation rules--as well as to reduce 
backlogs, expand legal representation, and make the asylum system and 
border processing more efficient and humane.
  Madam Speaker, immigrants eligible for such protection are an 
integral part of Texas' social fabric.
  Texas is home to 386,300 immigrants who are eligible for protection, 
112,000 of whom reside in Harris County.
  These individuals live with 845,300 family members and among those 
family members, 178,700 are U.S.-born citizen children.
  These persons in Texas who are eligible for protection under the bill 
arrived in the United States at the average age of 8 and on average 
have lived in the United States since 1996.
  They own 43,500 homes in Texas and pay $340,500,000 in annual 
mortgage payments and contribute $2,234,800,000 in federal taxes and 
$1,265,200,000 in state and local taxes each year.
  Annually, these households generate $10,519,000,000 in spending power 
in Texas and help power the national economy.
  The expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) enacted in the American 
Rescue Plan has already benefitted nearly 66 million children, put 
money in the pockets of millions of hard-working parents and guardians, 
and is expected to help cut child poverty by more than half.
  The Build Back Better Act not only extends this meaningful tax cut, 
but it also extends the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and 
the expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which help families 
make ends meet and put food on the table, reduce child poverty, and 
lessen the burden on hard-working Americans so they can provide a 
better future for America's children.
  Madam Speaker, 22.1 percent of Black people fall below the poverty 
line, struggling to pay expenses like food, rent, health care, and 
transportation for their families.
  By extending the Child Tax Credit, the Build Back Better Act provides 
a major tax cut to nearly 3 million Black people and cuts the Black 
poverty rate by 34.3 percent, which will help the 85 percent of Black 
women who are either sole or co-breadwinners for their families.
  By permanently extending the American Rescue Plan's increase to the 
Earned-Income Tax Credit from $543 to $1,502, the Build Back Better Act 
will benefit roughly 2.8 million Black low-wage workers, including 
cashiers, cooks, delivery drivers, food preparation workers, and child 
care providers.
  Earlier today, I celebrated with many of my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle at the White House where President Biden signed into law 
the Senate Amendment to the Invest Act of 2021, which invests into our 
infrastructure:
  $121 billion for Roads, Bridges, and Safety;
  $89.9 billion for Public Transit;
  $66 billion for Passenger and Freight Rail; and
  $55 billion for Drinking Water Infrastructure and Assistance.
  Of the amount of public transit funding authorized in the 
legislation, my home state of Texas is expected to receive 
$3,269,170,516, which is more than ample for the Federal Transit 
Administration to allocate the $20 million authorized for Harris 
County's METRO's BOOST Corridor project in my congressional district 
provided in the version of the Invest Act passed by the House in June 
of this year.
  The population of Harris County is projected to exceed 10 million 
people by 2040, which makes it crucial to develop a plan that addresses 
the growing demand for expansion of public transit.
  Approved by voters in November 2019, the BOOST plan includes 500 
miles of travel improvements to help ease traffic congestion and 
provide more ways to move around.
  The BOOST plan calls for 75 miles of new METRO Rapid bus service that 
operates like light rail, along with expansions to two-way HOV lanes, 
park and rides, transit centers, light rail, and community connector 
service, and enhancement to local bus stops to improve accessibility, 
safety, and security.
  With funding provided in the legislation before us, my constituents 
and residents and visitors in Harris County can look forward to a 
better walk with new or improved sidewalks along and/or near the route 
and improved crosswalks at intersections for your safety; a better wait 
at bus stops; and a better bus ride, with faster and more reliable 
service with streamlined stops along the route, traffic signal 
improvements at key intersections to improve bus speed and reliability 
by reducing the time buses spend waiting at red lights, and 
improvements designed to create easy traffic flow for buses and cars.
  Let me highlight a few of the major components of the Senate 
Amendment to H.R. 3684, the Invest In America Act, which represents the 
fulfillment of a promise to the American people.


          The infrastructure act on roads, bridges, and safety

  Delivers $121 billion for better roads and bridges faster by 
increasing investment by 54 percent, with an emphasis on fixing 
existing infrastructure;
  Dedicates $32 billion for bridge funding to ensure bridges in 
communities of all sizes are safer, more reliable, and more resilient;
  Invests $4 billion in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, 
helping the U.S. shift to the next generation of clean vehicles;
  Dedicates $8.3 billion for activities targeted to reduce carbon 
pollution and provides $6.2 billion for mitigation and resiliency 
improvements, also advances the development and utilization of green 
construction materials;
  Makes our roads safer with a significant boost to roadway safety 
programs, record levels of investment in walking and cycling 
infrastructure, complete streets planning and smarter road design, and 
safe routes to schools;
  Focuses transportation planning to promote mobility and facilitate 
access to jobs and other essential services, and reconnects communities 
that were divided by highways with a new $3 billion program to correct 
planning mistakes of the past;
  Targets investments to areas of persistent poverty, rural 
communities, Tribes, and other continually disadvantaged areas;
  Helps elevate state and local priorities by funding Member Designated 
Projects.


                   The Infrastructure Act on transit

  Provides $89.9 billion and makes record investments in transit to 
increase routes, reduce the transit maintenance backlog, and provide 
more frequent service, resulting in better options for riders, improved 
environmental outcomes, and increased access to jobs and essential 
destinations;
  Scales up investment in zero-emission transit vehicles, supporting 
fleet conversion to reduce local air pollution and related health 
impacts and these investments are paired with strong Buy America 
requirements and provisions for workforce training to ensure America 
can compete in the clean energy economy;
  Funds and incentivizes transit-oriented development to make transit 
more convenient to where people live and work and builds sustainable, 
walkable communities;
  Increases funding for rural transit by more than 50 percent in the 
first year and sets aside $50 million a year for rural persistent 
poverty communities and creates a pilot to improve flexibility in 
paratransit trips, allowing for brief stops such as childcare pick-ups 
and drop-offs, and short trips to the grocery store, pharmacy, or bank;
  Creates a new reduced-fare pilot program to improve access for low-
income riders, and doubles the set-aside for urban area formula dollars 
based on low-income population and deep poverty census tracts and 
directs transit agencies to serve these populations;
  Streamlines the Capital Investment Grant program to improve project 
delivery, reduce red tape, and achieve cost savings for transit 
agencies; and
  Creates new programs to address several pressing transit challenges--
improving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 
and addressing transit deserts by providing expanded transit service to 
unserved and underserved communities.

[[Page H6264]]

  



          The Infrastructure Act on Passenger and Freight Rail

  Provides $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, tripling funding 
for Amtrak, allowing for enhanced service, ADA upgrades, and 
investments to renew and support service on the Northeast Corridor and 
long-distance and state-supported routes;
  Provides funding for corridor planning and development of high-speed 
rail projects, reducing traffic congestion and shortening travel times;
  Improves rail safety by addressing highway-rail grade crossings 
needs, requiring additional rail safety inspectors, addressing 
trespasser and suicide fatalities, and eliminating gaps in railroad 
safety; and
  Creates a federal blocked crossing program to collect data and 
enforce a 10-minute blocked crossing limit.


 The Infrastructure Act on Drinking Water Infrastructure and Assistance

  Authorizes $55 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, 
the primary source of federal funding for safe drinking water 
infrastructure;
  This investment in drinking water infrastructure, will help eliminate 
the Nation's lead service lines and pipes, thereby delivering clean 
drinking water to up to ten million American families and more than 
400,000 schools and child care facilities that currently do not have 
it, including in Tribal nations and disadvantaged communities;
  As many as 10 million lead service lines are currently in use, 
including an estimated 400,000 schools and child facilities with lead 
components; and
  The legislation also strengthens drinking water standards and 
improves the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to set those 
standards, and directs EPA to set health-protective national standards 
for PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, and microcystin toxin within two years.
  In addition, the legislation provides:
  1. $15 billion in zero emission and clean buses and ferries and 
builds the first-ever national network of electric vehicle chargers in 
the United States, in order to address the adoption of electric 
vehicles and support domestic manufacturing jobs;
  2. $42 billion to modernize our airports, ports, and waterways;
  3. $50 billion to weatherize our infrastructure and insulate it 
against the threats of droughts, floods, and wildfires;
  4. $65 billion to upgrade our power infrastructure to facilitate the 
expansion of renewable energy;
  5. $21 billion in environmental remediation, making it the largest 
investment in addressing the legacy pollution that harms the public 
health of communities and neighborhoods in American history; and
  6. $65 billion to connect every American to reliable high-speed 
internet, building on the billions of dollars for broadband deployment 
in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
  To put it all in perspective, Madam Speaker, although we already 
passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, we now have a once-in-a-
century opportunity to make gigantic progress in making ours a more 
perfect union, and to do it in a single bound with enactment of the 
Build Back Better Act, the most transformative legislation passed by 
this Congress since the Great Society and the New Deal.
  I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican 
Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia who said colorfully earlier this 
year:
  ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to 
quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and 
just move. And move forward and move right now.''
  The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln 
in 1862 when he memorably wrote:
  ``The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. 
The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the 
occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We 
must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.''
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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