[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6598-H6605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5376, BUILD BACK BETTER ACT
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules,
I call up House Resolution 803 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 803
Resolved, That during further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 5376) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title
II of S. Con. Res. 14, pursuant to House Resolution 774, the
further amendment printed in the report of the Committee on
Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as
adopted.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts is
recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Reschenthaler), pending which I yield myself such time as I may
consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is
for the purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, today, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule,
House Resolution 803. The rule self-executes an additional manager's
amendment to H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act.
[[Page H6599]]
Madam Speaker, I don't think I will surprise anyone here when I say
that reconciliation can be a challenging process. The legislation we
pass here must be vetted to comply with the Senate's procedural rules
so that it can be considered there as quickly as possible. This is why
we are here tonight, to ensure the historic Build Back Better bill can
be taken up across the Capitol without delay.
There was some concern that this process might negatively impact the
policies and programs contained in the legislation. But I am proud to
report tonight, Madam Speaker, that this rule makes only very technical
changes.
As the summary states, it makes ``technical changes to narrow U.S.
Code citations and references to comply with Senate procedural
requirements.''
Now, let me put that in plain English, Madam Speaker. The Build Back
Better Act remains virtually unchanged.
That means U.S. workers will see the establishment of the first-ever
national paid family and medical leave guarantee.
People will see the largest expansion of healthcare coverage since
the Affordable Care Act was passed nearly a decade ago.
Nine million Americans will see their premiums reduced through the
expansion of the premium tax credit.
Four million people who are uninsured today will have access to
quality care through the closing of Medicaid's coverage gap.
Those who take prescription drugs will see lower costs since Medicare
is finally--finally--allowed to start negotiating drug prices.
The more than 25 million people who rely on insulin in this country
will see the cost of insulin capped at just $35.
Families will save an average of $8,600 per child every year through
the establishment of universal and free preschool for 3- and 4-year-
olds.
Five million students will see their Pell grants get a boost, and
Dreamers will be eligible to receive them.
Roughly 40 million American families will see a tax cut through the
extension of the child tax credit. This was first enacted in the
American Rescue Plan and will help cut child poverty nearly in half.
And, yes, Madam Speaker, future generations will have a more livable
planet through historic investments that we are making here to combat
the climate crisis.
Now, I know this has been a long process at times. The Rules
Committee has spent more than a dozen hours over multiple meetings
considering this bill, and that is in addition to the work of all the
other committees.
But now, Madam Speaker, the numbers have been crunched; the technical
language has been vetted; and we are on the doorstep of passing this
historic bill.
The Build Back Better Act is a transformational bill at a historic
moment, and it is up to all of us to seize this opportunity.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this rule and advance this
transformational legislation so that we can deliver for the American
people.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman
from Massachusetts for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I
yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, in Joe Biden's America, 70 percent of Americans
describe this economy as poor. It is not hard to see why that is.
Inflation is at a 31-year high. This makes it harder for everyday
Americans to purchase everyday items. It is also wiping out wages.
Gas prices alone are at a 7-year high.
American families are facing the most expensive Thanksgiving on
record.
The backlog of ships that are waiting to deliver goods has grown by
43 percent since President Biden promised to fix our supply chain
crisis last month.
Yet, here we are, about to consider the most expensive bill in
American history. We are doing this instead of addressing the real
problems that are facing real Americans.
Democrats are now doubling down on their failed tax and spend
policies that will make Joe Biden's economic crisis even worse than it
is now.
President Biden once said: ``Show me your budget, and I will tell you
what you value.'' Well, the bill before us today makes one thing clear:
Democrats value millionaires and billionaires over blue-collar workers
and American families.
The Democrats' Big Government socialist spending spree provides tax
cuts of up to $25,900 for millionaires, home buying and childcare
subsidies for couples making over $200,000, and electric vehicle
subsidies for couples who bring in more than half a million dollars a
year.
Those are the values of my colleagues across the aisle. In total,
there are $250 billion in tax breaks for the top 1 percent.
Who will be paying for the wealthy to buy a new mansion or maybe put
a new Tesla in their five-car garage? That is easy. It is going to be
middle-class Americans, working families who have to subsidize these
extravagances.
The left-leaning Tax Policy Center found this bill would raise taxes
on middle-class Americans by 30 percent. That doesn't even factor in
the hidden tax of inflation that is over 6 percent now.
This tax scheme will also destroy up to 1 million U.S. jobs.
Just like millionaires and billionaires, China benefits from this
bill, thanks to a ban on domestic mineral production and policies that
make it better for foreign businesses to manufacture outside the United
States rather than right here in America.
Far-left news organizations also luck out with a new tax cut, while
millions of illegal immigrants will be granted amnesty and will be
eligible for $45,000 a year in government benefits.
Butterflies, freshwater mussels, and desert fish also receive
millions of dollars in this bill. There is also $2.5 billion for so-
called tree equity.
How about middle-class Americans? We already know that they will be
paying more in taxes and seeing fewer economic opportunities. But,
surely, there is something in this bill for them.
Well, for starters, Democrats are hiring 87,000 new IRS agents to spy
on their bank accounts. Their proposal will double the chance of being
audited, with nearly half of all audits hitting families making less
than $75,000 a year.
The Democrats are also implementing Big Government socialist price
control schemes on prescription drugs, meaning that fewer cures and
fewer treatments will be available for seniors and patients.
Also, thanks to a natural gas tax and more than $550 billion spent on
Green New Deal policies, Americans can expect to pay higher prices for
home heating costs, electricity rates, and gas prices. Keep in mind
that heating bills are already expected to be up as much as 54 percent
for some American households this winter.
So if President Biden's words are true and a budget is demonstrative
of values, then it is very clear what my friends across the aisle
value, and that is millionaires and billionaires, illegal immigrants,
bugs and fish, and even this concept of tree equity.
Those are the values that are prioritized in this budget over the
concerns and needs of everyday Americans, working-class and middle-
class families.
The Democrats' Big Government socialist spending scam is full of far-
left priorities and will further fuel the highest inflation and the
highest spike in prices that we have seen in four decades. Sadly, it is
going to be American workers, job creators, and families who will be
forced to foot this bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a November 17 Reuters article
titled ``Rating agencies say Biden's spending plans will not add to
inflationary pressure.''
[From Reuters, Nov. 16, 2021]
Rating Agencies Say Biden's Spending Plans Will Not Add to Inflationary
Pressure
(By Kanishka Singh)
U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social
spending legislation will not add to inflationary pressures
in the U.S. economy, economists and analysts in leading
rating agencies told Reuters on Tuesday.
Biden has spent the past few months promoting the merits of
both pieces of legislation--the $1.75 trillion ``Build Back
Better''
[[Page H6600]]
plan and a separate $1 trillion infrastructure plan. read
more
The two pieces of legislation ``should not have any real
material impact on inflation'', William Foster, vice
president and senior credit officer (Sovereign Risk) at
Moody's Investors Service, told Reuters.
The impact of the spending packages on the fiscal deficit
will be rather small because they will be spread over a
relatively long time horizon, Foster added.
Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat, has previously
raised inflationary concerns in relation to Biden's social
spending plan, with a report earlier this month suggesting he
may delay the passage of the Build Back Better legislation.
read more
``The bills do not add to inflation pressures, as the
policies help to lift long-term economic growth via stronger
productivity and labor force growth, and thus take the edge
off of inflation,'' said Mark Zandi, chief economist at
Moody's Analytics, which operates independently from the
parent company's ratings business.
Zandi said the costs of both the infrastructure and social
spending legislation were sustainable.
``The bills are largely paid for through higher taxes on
multinational corporations and well-to-do households, and
more than paid for if the benefit of the added growth and the
resulting impact on the government's fiscal situation are
considered'', he said in an interview.
Charles Seville, senior director and Americas sovereigns
co-head at Fitch Ratings, said the two pieces of legislation
``will neither boost nor quell inflation much in the short-
run.''
Government spending will still add less to demand in 2022
than in 2021 and over the longer-run, the social spending
legislation could increase labor supply through provisions
such as childcare, and productivity, Seville told Reuters.
The House of Representatives passed the $1 trillion
infrastructure package earlier this month after the Senate
approved it in August. Biden signed the bill into law on
Monday.
The Build Back Better package includes provisions on
childcare and preschool, eldercare, healthcare, prescription
drug pricing and immigration.
``The deficit will still narrow in FY 2022 as pandemic
relief spending drops out and the economic recovery boosts
tax revenues'', Seville said. ``But the legislation (Build
Back Better) does not sustainably fund all the initiatives,
particularly if these are extended and don't sunset, meaning
that they will be funded by greater borrowing.''
The Congressional Budget Office anticipates publishing a
complete cost estimate for the Build Back Better plan by
Friday, Nov. 19. Biden said on Tuesday he expected the Build
Back Better legislation to be passed within a week's time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, just yesterday, economists and analysts
made clear that the Build Back Better bill would not add to
inflationary pressures. Let me remind those on the other side that
there are provisions in this legislation to bolster our supply chains.
If we want to talk about values, our values are that we want to lower
the cost of prescription drugs for our senior citizens. Our values are
that we think it is outrageous that drug companies charge so much for
insulin, a drug that has been around forever, yet families are being
gouged by these drug companies. There is a provision in this bill that
caps insulin costs at just $35 a month. Those are our values.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado
(Mr. Neguse), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, with all the respect in the world to my
colleague from Pennsylvania, to the extent he wants to talk about Joe
Biden's America, let's stick to the facts.
In Joe Biden's America, wage growth is up, and unemployment is down.
In Joe Biden's America, family income is up, and prescription drug
pricing is poised to go down.
That is why I am excited to be here today, Madam Speaker, to support
the Build Back Better Act and speak in support of this transformative,
historic legislation that will inure to the benefit of each and every
American.
There is a lot to be proud of in this bill, such as the tax cuts for
working families that it will deliver, the jobs that it will create,
and the costs for working families that it will lower.
But for me, personally, the part that I am most enthused and excited
about is universal pre-K because, as the Speaker knows, I am a father.
I have a young 3-year-old daughter who started preschool this year.
There is nothing that can bring a smile to my face more than seeing my
daughter after a day at preschool, seeing how much she has enjoyed it
and how much she has learned. We are lucky to be able to send her to
school, but many families in Colorado and across the country are not.
Thanks to President Biden's vision, universal pre-K for every 3-year-
old and 4-year-old in the United States of America will be a reality.
So let's pass this bill. Let's send it to the Senate. Let's get it
across the finish line. And let's deliver for the American people.
{time} 1815
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I just want to cite something. While campaigning for
the White House last year, President Biden repeatedly, repeatedly
stressed that he would not directly raise taxes on individuals making
below $400,000.
Information in an analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation
released Tuesday showed that the House version of President Biden's
bill will start raising taxes as early as 2023 on middle-class
families.
Additionally, tax increases fall heaviest on the lower and middle
class, while the super-wealthy receive a generous tax cut until at
least 2025.
I know my good friend from Colorado was talking about wages
increasing. What is not being considered is that if wages are not
increasing at the amount of inflation, people are actually having less
purchasing power. So unless your wages have increased by 6.2 percent,
your money earned is actually not what it was just a month or two or
three ago.
So, yes, wages may be rising, but they are not keeping pace with
inflation, so everyday Americans are paying what economists call the
invisible tax of inflation, which hurts working-class and middle-class
families the most, particularly when you look at the amount they have
to pay for gas prices, which are at a 7-year high. By the way, the last
time gas prices were this high, President Biden was again in the White
House.
Additionally, something to consider, the budget resolution has three
committees that are well over the budget resolution amount, which I
believe is going to cause a problem in the Senate.
First, the Committee on Homeland Security was at $500 million in the
budget resolution. It is almost three times that amount on the current
CBO score. It is just under $1.5 billion.
If you look at the Committee on the Judiciary, you had a budget
resolution number of just about $108 billion. The CBO came back at $115
billion, just over $115 billion, with $369 billion from 2032 to 2041.
Then you have the Committee on Oversight, which is almost just as
egregious as Homeland Security's number. It was in the budget
resolution as $7.5 billion. It is almost twice that, at $13.8 billion.
I am not the Senate Parliamentarian, but from my understanding, this
is going to cause significant issues at the Senate.
But, Madam Speaker, I just want to talk about the previous question.
If we defeat the previous question, I will offer personally an
amendment to the rule to strike provisions in this bill allowing
millions of illegal immigrants to live and work in the United States
indefinitely and setting them on the path toward citizenship.
Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment in the Record along with any extraneous material immediately
prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my good friend and the former
ranking member of the Judiciary Committee to explain the amendment.
Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, in 10 months we have gone from a secure
border to complete chaos. We don't have a border anymore. We don't. We
now have what Secretary Clinton said she wanted when she ran for
President 5 years ago. We have a borderless hemisphere.
You don't believe it? Just look at the numbers. March was the highest
month on record for illegal crossings at our southern border, the
highest month on record until April, and then April was the highest
month on record until May,
[[Page H6601]]
and then May was the highest month on record until June. June was the
highest month on record until July, when there were 212,000 illegal
encounters on our southern border.
This past month it went all the way down to 164,000. 1.7 million this
year alone. A record.
And guess what? Thousands more in a caravan are on their way. And all
the terrible things that happen in these caravans are there because of
the policies of the Biden administration and the Democrats who control
the Federal Government.
But don't worry. Don't worry. Secretary Mayorkas said this, ``The
border is closed. The border is secure.'' If the effects and what
happens to kids and families on these treks wasn't so serious, if it
wasn't so bad, you would almost have to laugh because there is no way
anyone can describe the border as closed and the border as secure.
In this big spending bill, this $2 trillion monstrosity, what is the
Democrats' response to that chaotic situation on our border?
Amnesty for over 6 million people who are in our country illegally.
Think about that. That is their response.
Oh, and don't forget--don't forget what the Justice Department is
getting ready to do. When they are not spying on parents, when they are
not treating parents as a domestic terrorist threat, our Justice
Department is getting ready to pay people who illegally entered our
country $450,000. I mean, you can't make this stuff up. It is why
people all across this country are just throwing their hands up. What
is going on?
The cost of the immigration policies in this legislation are almost
half a trillion dollars over the next 20 years. Half a trillion
dollars. But, again, don't worry, Joe Biden says that half a trillion
dollars in spending on immigration policies and all the other spending
in this bill is going to help the inflation problem.
There is not a rational, sane person on the planet who believes that.
And why the President of the United States would make such a statement
is beyond me.
Record high inflation. The highest we have had in 31 years, and Joe
Biden says spending half a trillion over 20 years on immigration
policies in this legislation and all the other spending is going to
lower inflation.
Let's defeat the previous question. When it comes up, let's defeat
the rule. And for goodness' sake, I hope we will vote down this bill,
which is only going to exacerbate the already terrible situation we
have seen. Every single policy that has come from the Biden
administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress has been harmful to
American families.
We have gone, as I said, from a secure border to chaos. We have gone
from energy independence to the spectacle of the President of the
United States begging OPEC to increase production. We went from
relatively safe cities to crime going up in every major urban area in
this country, and we went from stable prices to a 31-year high in
inflation.
You want to buy a home? It is going to cost more.
You want to rent an apartment? It is going to cost more.
Put food on the table? It is going to cost more.
Put gas in your car? It is going to cost more.
Thanksgiving turkey is going to cost more. Christmas presents for
your family are going to cost more in Joe Biden's America.
This bill is so bad. Vote down the previous question, vote down the
rule, vote down this bill for the good of the families of this great
Nation.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I have to tell you, I think what is on display here
really is the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
I mean, this Build Back Better bill is about our values and about
what we are for, about solving problems. And what we hear from our
Republican friends is hate and vitriol, blaming Joe Biden for
everything. It is a cloudy day out; it is Joe Biden's fault. I mean,
everything. But no solutions, nothing that they are for.
We passed a historic infrastructure bill 2 weeks ago. It is going to
help rebuild our country. The overwhelming majority of my Republican
friends voted against it, and the few that voted for it are now under
attack by the Republican leadership and are being threatened with
losing their committee assignments. I mean, that is their response to
our infrastructure challenges.
When the previous President, Mr. Trump, was in office, we had
infrastructure week, infrastructure month, infrastructure press
release, but no infrastructure money. Thankfully, because of the
leadership of this President, and Members of this Congress who voted
for it, we have an infrastructure bill.
When you talk about policies that they are against, I mean, really,
you are against the extension of the child tax credit, which has
decreased child poverty by almost 30 percent?
Are you against increasing the Pell grants and against investing in
affordable housing?
Are you against dealing with the climate crisis?
Are you against, you know, the universal free pre-K for 3-year-olds
and 4-year-olds?
Are you against expanding the earned income tax credit?
Are you against making historic investments in historically Black
colleges and universities?
I mean, I can go on and on and on. But these are the things we are
for. What you hear from the other side is what they are against.
I think the American people think it is more important for us to tell
them what we are for. And what this bill is about is about being on the
side of those who struggle in this country every day.
And, by the way, there are investments in this bill to deal with our
supply chain issues, which can also help with inflation, but I guess
they are against that, too.
I now yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn
B. Maloney), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Oversight and
Reform.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I thank the
gentleman for yielding and for his strong and important leadership on
this historic bill.
I rise in strong support of the Build Back Better Act and thank the
Democratic leadership for their historic investment into the American
lives and the lives of their families.
We have no future if we don't get serious about combating climate
change, and this bill is transformative in this area and so many other
areas.
The Oversight Committee's title would make the Federal Government a
leader on combating climate change by electrifying the Federal
Government's vehicle fleet. Our title includes nearly $3 billion for
GSA and $6 billion for the Postal Service to purchase tens of thousands
of electric vehicles and build the infrastructure necessary to support
them.
Electric vehicles are a sensible and cost-effective investment that
will reduce emissions and help save our planet.
The title also includes $4 billion for GSA to expand the use of
emerging green technologies and to green Federal buildings.
I am especially pleased that we have included dedicated funding for
OMB to track labor equity and environmental standards and performance.
It is critical that the House pass this bill as quickly as possible.
Congratulations to everyone who is supporting this critically important
bill.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, we are all here to represent our constituents, and I
don't think it is a coincidence that House Democrats represent all but
one of the 25 districts that benefit from the SALT tax provision. That
includes Speaker Pelosi's own district. What this is, it is a tax break
for millionaires and billionaires.
Let's just look at the tax consequences of this bill. Analysis by the
nonprofit Tax Foundation found, ``Over 96 percent of districts across
the United States would eventually see a tax increase'' because of
President Biden's and House Democrats' socialist, Big Government
spending spree. Ninety-six percent of districts will have higher taxes
because of that. This hurts the working and middle class.
[[Page H6602]]
Even the left-leaning Tax Policy Center found that President Biden's
and Speaker Pelosi's spending spree would raise taxes on middle-class
Americans by 30 percent. That is 30 percent that you have to take into
account when you have inflation at over 6 percent. In essence, it is a
36 percent-plus tax increase on middle-class families and working
families.
This bill, though, delivers tax cuts to some people, and that is two-
thirds of the country's millionaires. Two-thirds of the millionaires in
the United States under this bill actually receive a tax cut.
Small businesses also get hurt. They don't get favored like
millionaires and billionaires. This includes $400 billion in small
business tax hikes, which some argue would take the effective tax rate
of small businesses in excess of 57 percent.
Additionally, this bill hires 87,000 new IRS agents that are going to
be used to increase audits on everyday, working Americans. Nearly half
of those audits will impact families earning $75,000 a year or less.
About one-quarter affected will be Americans who earn just $25,000 per
year. This will damage the working and middle class severely.
{time} 1830
This isn't just numbers. We can talk about tax rates all we want, but
when Americans go to Thanksgiving Day dinner, they will pay more than
ever.
If you just look at how much Americans are paying, steak is up 24
percent. Bacon is up over 20 percent; fish and seafood over 11 percent;
eggs, 11.6 percent. This will be the most expensive Thanksgiving Day
dinner in the history of the United States, thanks to Joe Biden's
economy.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my good friend and colleague.
Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
The chairman of the Rules Committee said Republicans want to blame
Joe Biden for everything. I am not blaming Joe Biden for everything;
the American people are. Right-track, wrong-track polling says 71
percent of our fellow citizens think our country is on the wrong track.
I am not blaming Joe Biden; they are, the people we represent.
Approval rating is 38 percent, and the Vice President's approval is
28 percent. In the history of polling for Vice President and President,
I don't know if I have ever seen anything that low. It is the American
people who are fed up with what they see.
The gentleman who chairs the Rules Committee said: What are they for?
I will tell you what we are for. I will tell you what Republicans are
for. I will tell you what the American people are for. We are actually
for a secure border. Imagine that.
We are for lower prices.
We actually would like to have real wages be going up like they were
under President Trump.
We would like to have a secure border like we had under President
Trump.
We would actually like less crime in our urban areas like we had
under President Trump.
We would like to be energy independent like we were just 10 months
ago. We would kind of like not to have the spectacle of the President
of the United States begging OPEC to increase production at the same
time your policies in this bill would discourage American companies
from increasing production. What do you guys want, $8 a gallon
gasoline?
I will tell you what we are for. We are for a Department of Justice
that doesn't target parents, doesn't target moms and dads for standing
up and saying we don't want this racist curriculum, anti-American
curriculum, taught to our kids.
I will tell you what we are for. We are actually for not raising
taxes on American families. That is what we are for. That is what
American families want. They like to keep the money they earn, be able
to put gas in their car, buy Christmas presents for their family,
afford the things that just 10 months ago they could. Ten months ago,
it was so much different. That is what we are for.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I don't even know how to respond to all of that. I would just say to
my friends that the American people had what they had to offer. When
they were in the majority, we had 4 years of Donald Trump, and guess
what? They voted for Joe Biden and gave him a victory by millions and
millions and millions and millions of votes. So, I don't think they
want what they were selling.
I just also say to my friends who are trying to lecture us on tax
policy, my Republican friends can't be serious here. You added $2
trillion to the deficit to give tax breaks to millionaires and
billionaires and corporations at the expense of everyone else. It was
shameful. It was shameful what my friends did.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the
distinguished chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I rise today in support of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
contribution to the Build Back Better Act of 2021.
The committee has an important responsibility to advance measures
that support veterans and honor their service and sacrifice, as well as
that of their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Last week, we celebrated Veterans Day. The Build Back Better Act is
the perfect way to continue to show our gratitude with concrete,
meaningful investment for all veterans.
By making this critical investment at the VA, we can start rebuilding
VA's capacity in terms of brick-and-mortar infrastructure, human
capital, and support structures that serve our Nation's veterans.
Now, I have a difficult time believing my colleagues across the aisle
think that veterans are unworthy of this investment. The fact is,
veterans from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Beaufort, South Carolina, and
from Columbia, Missouri, to Clarksville, Tennessee, are among the
districts that stand to gain directly from these resources.
The most important piece of this legislation is the $1.8 billion for
medical facility leases that fixes a longstanding backlog of lease
authorizations. Take a look at VA's budget book, at the leases that are
on that list. You will see it largely benefits Republican districts. Do
my Republican colleagues not want VA facilities and clinics in their
districts? I don't believe that for one moment. I know that they will
attend the ribbon-cutting ceremonies, though, when this bill is passed
into law and issue press releases when these facilities are open.
Voting against this legislation would not only mean turning our backs
on our most sacred promise to our Nation's veterans, but it would be a
striking departure for many of my Republican colleagues who have long
advocated for these investments.
As demand for care and services at VA continue to grow, the lack of
purposeful, usable clinic space will hurt veterans, including women
veterans, because clinic spaces are not designed for them. A lack of
access to healthcare providers will hurt veterans because we simply
don't have enough providers in this country. Making investments in the
next generation of healthcare providers is just common sense.
I will end by saying nearly three-fourths of the American people
agree that it is time to update VA's infrastructure. The Build Back
Better Act gives us the framework to do just that.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
My friend and colleague from Massachusetts was talking about taxes. I
will stand here and talk about taxes all day because, at the end of the
night, the American people will see that the second-biggest provision
in this bill is actually a tax break to millionaires and billionaires.
Facts are facts. If you look at it, the Committee for Responsible
Federal Budgets found that the SALT tax carve-out would ``be nearly 50
times as large as the benefit of the expanded child tax credits for a
typical family over 5 years.''
SALT gives tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires in blue
States. Who pays for that? Working families all over the United States.
[[Page H6603]]
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Carter).
Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. This is our moment. Now is the time to deal
the working people back in.
We need to prove to the people that the government works for them,
not just for those on top.
Build Back Better lowers family healthcare costs by strengthening the
ACA, capping the price on insulin, adding in hearing benefits for
Medicare, and much more.
This bill would be transformative for American families. With the
child tax credit, childcare, and affordable, high-quality preschool,
our Nation will finally invest in our children.
We must address the climate crisis, and we can't leave any community
behind. Our health, our culture, and our economy depend on it.
We cannot wait another day to build back better for the working
families of America. Let's start now.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
One thing we need to address here also is the tax on natural gas.
This will increase nearly everything everyday Americans buy.
We already know that there are projections that people will be paying
more than ever this winter to heat their homes, almost a 50 percent
increase in some places.
If you look at the fees in this bill, the taxes, a $900 methane fee
phases into $1,500 in production per metric ton. That just sounds like
numbers, but think about it. If we are taxing natural gas, we are
taxing Americans who use natural gas to heat their homes. We are taxing
the industries that use petrochemicals to manufacture everyday products
that we use and manufacture here in the United States. And consumers
end up paying that tax, as well.
We are also making it more expensive to manufacture here in the
United States because as you tax natural gas, it costs more to
manufacture goods here at home. Again, the American consumer will end
up paying this tax.
These taxes on natural gas will do nothing more than make it harder
for Americans to heat their homes. It will make it more expensive for
us to manufacture products, to pay for petrochemicals. It will make it
harder for us to actually rebuild the economy.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Jones).
Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, I am so proud to have played a leading role
in securing high-quality, affordable childcare for every family in
America in the Build Back Better Act.
This policy is personal for me. Growing up, I was raised by a single
mom who had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. She got help
raising me from my grandparents. My grandmother cleaned homes, and when
daycare was too expensive, she had to take me to work with her.
Madam Speaker, no family in America, no child in America, should have
to accompany their guardian to work because childcare is too expensive,
certainly not in the richest nation in the history of the world. That
is why we are investing nearly $400 billion in childcare and early
learning programs to ensure that we solve this affordability crisis.
The childcare provisions will transform our childcare system and help
bring unemployed parents back into the workforce without them being
financially burdened.
For these reasons and so many more, I urge my colleagues to vote
``yes'' on this historic legislation.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
Mr. CLYDE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for
yielding.
Madam Speaker, this monstrosity of a bill is the most progressive and
expensive piece of legislation in our Nation's history. It will
fundamentally alter the course of our great Nation by codifying the far
left's dangerous policies, such as components of the Green New Deal,
taxpayer-funded abortion, and the weaponization of the IRS.
In fulfilling the far left's wish list, this bankrupts America. And
it does so, Madam Speaker, all while Americans are reeling from record-
high rates of inflation that are crippling their pocketbooks, emptying
shelves at the supermarket, and making gasoline prices skyrocket.
This compounded with the fact that the Biden administration refuses
to address the myriad of crises plaguing Americans across the country,
I am convinced that my counterparts on the other side of the aisle have
no desire to set America up to succeed, nor are they interested in
embracing the freedoms that we know and love, the very freedoms that
serve as the foundational underpinnings of our great democracy.
No, this bill moves us not just one step toward socialism, it propels
us into Big Government socialism. That is because this bill provides:
Universal preschool childcare from birth to the tune of nearly $400
billion, both of which are great opportunities for Washington-
controlled curriculums and bureaucrats to indoctrinate our children in
the most developmental of years.
$80 billion to double the size of the Internal Revenue Service,
further weaponizing the agency and targeting hardworking American
taxpayers. That should frighten every one of us.
$100 billion to establish a backdoor amnesty program that will give
5-year renewable visas to millions of individuals illegally residing in
the United States.
The child tax credit to those who enter the United States illegally
by dropping the current law requirement for a Social Security number.
$550 billion for the Green New Deal, including billions for a new
climate green bank, environmental and climate justice grants, and the
United States Postal Service to convert to an electric vehicle fleet.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to
the gentleman.
Mr. CLYDE. And $12.5 billion for tree equity and radical
environmental justice initiatives.
That is right, this bill leaves us knocking on the door of Big
Government socialism.
My constituents sent me to Washington, D.C., to protect and secure
their freedoms and to put Americans first, not last, and I look forward
to voting ``no'' on this travesty of a bill.
I encourage all of my colleagues to also vote ``no'' on this Big
Government socialism bill.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).
Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I want to take a moment this evening to
dedicate my remarks to my dear friends Jon Baran, Caitie Padilla, and
their beautiful daughter, Sophie.
This week, we celebrated the signing of the bipartisan infrastructure
bill. Now, it is time to pass the other half of the President's agenda
to ensure that our families and our communities can build a brighter,
more just, more equitable, and more sustainable future.
As a proud daughter of New Mexico, I represent the strong, beautiful,
resilient people of New Mexico's First Congressional District. Over the
pandemic, we have used every ounce of our grit, our determination, and
our heart to get by. Yet, so many families are still struggling.
That is why we must pass the Build Back Better Act and why it is a
must-pass bill for New Mexico.
We must invest in healthcare and community well-being. We must invest
in universal pre-K. We must invest in childcare and caring for our
elders.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentlewoman.
Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, we must invest in addressing global
climate change because that is our charge. Our communities are counting
on us, and that is why we must deliver this bill tonight.
{time} 1845
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I have heard a lot tonight about pharmaceuticals. This
bill implements socialist price control
[[Page H6604]]
schemes for prescription drugs that will actually negatively impact
seniors and negatively impact patients and those who have rare diseases
in their families.
There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding about this industry.
On average, it costs $2.6 billion to take a drug to market. We, for
whatever reason, focus on the cost per each dose. By the way,
petrochemicals are used to make our pharmaceuticals, which this bill
also taxes, as I said before. But there is a fundamental
misunderstanding in how drugs are produced. If we get these socialist
price controls in this bill, it will actually kill our innovation, or
deincentivize any pharmaceutical company to actually reinvest and
invest in new drugs and prescriptions, which will actually harm those
with rare diseases and make it harder for those that are suffering from
mental conditions to get the drugs they need.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, let's be clear. My friends are saying
that putting a cap on the cost of insulin is somehow socialism or
undercutting the United States of America.
Give me a break. Talk to parents whose children have diabetes and how
they anguish over the costs and how they worry about how their children
will be able to support the cost of their prescriptions once they
become 26 and are no longer on their parents' healthcare.
So let's get real. This is a debate about values. We are on the side
of capping the cost of insulin so that diabetes patients aren't gouged
like they are now.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms.
Titus).
Ms. TITUS. Madam Speaker, Democrats know that genuine recovery from
this pandemic means more than returning to the status quo ante.
Earlier this week, we made long overdue investments in our
infrastructure. Now with the Build Back Better Act, we can expand
healthcare coverage and lower costs. We can provide families with
access to affordable childcare and universal preschool. We can reduce
housing costs. We can cut taxes for working people while making the
wealthiest pay their fair share; and we can make the grandest effort in
American history towards combating climate change.
How we choose to invest our resources is a reflection of our values.
The previous administration prioritized handing $2 trillion to
billionaires and big corporations.
Let us instead invest in American workers and families and pass this
Build Back Better Act now.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), a distinguished member of the Committee on
Rules.
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, for decades Congress has based economic
policy on trickle-down economics, eviscerating America's middle class
in the process. But today, we reject that approach. The Build Back
Better Act invests in American families, not hedge funds, in ways that
will benefit all of us.
I would mention two investments of particular importance to my
district in Pennsylvania: Children and veterans.
This bill builds upon the American Rescue Plan that we passed in
March to expand benefits for families and support for childcare. In
doing so, it will reduce child poverty more and produce generational
benefits to our country. The bill also makes long, overdue investments
in the aging infrastructure of our Veterans Administration; including
upgrading medical facilities and finally digitizing service records
that are required for veterans and their families to obtain the
benefits our Nation has promised to them.
With this bill, we can create real, sustained economic growth that
benefits all Americans, and I am proud to support it.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I would just note that this bill
does not include the Hyde amendment, which will allow taxpayer dollars
to be used to fund on-demand abortions.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, in this season of giving, as we sit
down to our Thanksgiving table, I hope the American people will know
that we have handed them a gift over corporate greed that is insistent
on raising the price of goods. We presented to them the Build Back
Better Act.
And for those naysayers who want to talk about inflation, Mark Zandi
said, ``The bills do not add to inflation pressures, as the policies
help to lift long-term economic growth via stronger productivity and
labor force growth,'' that is from one of the renowned economists in
this Nation.
Madam Speaker, what I am fighting for is to make sure that Perla
Rosalez in Texas has health insurance for the first time in decades. I
remember that I cried when we were not able to give all of these
uninsured persons insurance. We are giving them health insurance and we
also--as chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland
Security, and Investigations--are giving community violence dollars to
stop the violence.
Madam Speaker, this is a bill we should pass. Support the Build Back
Better bill for the American people.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, while I have tremendous respect for
my colleague from Texas, I do want to point out that according to
Moody's Analytics, consumer prices will rise 2.24 percent higher after
the Biden infrastructure and the American Rescue Plan and the Build
Back Better spending spree then in a Biden-free economy.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
Mr. CONNOLLY. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. McGovern, for
yielding.
Madam Speaker, when I served in local government, I helped to write
and pass 14 consecutive budgets. If I learned one thing from that
process, it is that budgets are statements of values. When Republicans
last used the budget reconciliation process, it was to pass a $2
trillion tax giveaway to the wealthy. Before that, they used it to rip
healthcare away from more than 20 million Americans. They stated their
values loudly and clearly.
Well, here are our values in this bill. We value working Americans,
and are using reconciliation to cut their taxes; not the rich. We value
American children and parents, and are using reconciliation drastically
to lower childcare costs, provide paid family leave, and guarantee
access to preschool. We value the health and well-being of the American
people, and are using reconciliation to expand access to vital health
services, especially our seniors. And we value our environment, and are
using reconciliation to make the single largest investment in the fight
against climate change in history.
These are our values. This is how we build back a better America, not
only for the rich and well-connected, but for all Americans.
Madam Speaker, I urge the passage of this important investment in our
future.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I think it should be noted that
this bill actually impedes and bans domestic energy and mineral
production, which will actually increase our dependencies on resource
suppliers, from OPEC, Russia, and China. I just think that should be
noted.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida
(Mrs. Cammack), my good friend and colleague.
Mrs. CAMMACK. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Reschenthaler) for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I am going to read a statement from one of my
Democratic colleagues here today.
``Because of last-minute late-night changes to the latest version of
the Build Back Better Act, two-thirds of millionaires would get a big
tax cut for the next 5 years under the bill. That is one reason that I
refuse to vote for the bill without time to review the changes made to
it a little over a week ago. Now we know. The tax benefits to
[[Page H6605]]
these millionaires over 5 years could be 50 times as large as the
benefit of the child tax credit for a typical low- or middle-income
family. The bill spends more on tax breaks for millionaires than on
childcare assistance, education, seniors, and even more than all of the
healthcare provisions combined.''
This is from one of our Democratic colleagues. If one of our
Democratic colleague is stating this, then we know that there is
bipartisan opposition to this bill, a bill that we know is going to
kill every single American's American Dream. This is a socialist
nightmare that we can simply not afford.
One in 25 people in this country is here illegally, and this bill
will create a pathway for amnesty and all of the social welfare
programs that go with it. We cannot afford this. We cannot agree to
bankrupt our children and our grandchildren because of a political
agenda. It is unfair. It is not right. It is un-American. I urge all of
my colleagues, consider your children, your grandchildren.
Madam Speaker, 10 years ago, I, myself, was homeless, and under this
bill, had these programs been in place, I probably would have never
been able to be standing here today because the American Dream is
bankrupted under this bill.
Madam Speaker, I urge every single one of my colleagues, think with
your hearts and your heads rather than the political agenda that you
have been tasked with executing. Vote for the American people.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, you have to love these Republicans. They get up and
talk about everything but what is in this Build Back Better bill. When
all else fails, they get out and they bash immigrants again, blame
immigrants for everything.
Having a tough time at work? Well, blame an immigrant.
Having a problem with your marriage? Well, blame immigrants.
But the bottom line is, they come to the floor and they tell us what
they are against but they don't tell us what they are for. This bill
includes an extension of the child tax credit, which has already
reduced child poverty in this country by 30 percent. They are against
that? We are for that.
This bill actually caps the cost of insulin to $35 a month. Talk to
your constituents who have to rely on insulin to save the lives of
their children. I mean, really? You are against that? We are for that.
We actually care about our children's future. That is why there is
money in here to deal with the climate crisis; while my friends deny
that there is even a climate crisis to be concerned about.
So give me a break. Give me a break. This is a statement of our
values. This is what we are for. We don't hear what they are for. All
we hear is what they are against.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Soto).
Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, headline: Democrats deliver for the American
people again. Democrats deliver for Central Florida, again. Lowering
prescription drug prices and capping costs for seniors. Extending child
tax credit payments. Paid family leave and lower childcare costs for
Central Florida families.
Providing nearly 1 million Floridians with an expansion of the ACA,
boosting affordable housing, immigration reform, the largest effort to
combat climate change in history.
And unlike the GOP tax scam that busted the deficit by $400 billion
and $4 trillion in debt, we pay for ours with major corporations, and
the wealthy paying their fair share.
Madam Speaker, the Republicans are doing nothing but divide. The
Democrats are delivering for America.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Madam Speaker, with record high inflation and gas prices, supply
chain shortages, and what is going to be the most expensive
Thanksgiving on record, Democrats should focus on addressing real
economic crises that are facing real Americans and real American
workers every day. But instead, this bill before us would actually
double lower- and middle-income earners chances of being audited. It
would make it more expensive for them to heat their homes and fill
their gas tanks, and it will actually drive businesses and jobs
overseas; further damaging our economy.
Democrats are extending tax breaks in this bill, extending tax breaks
for millionaires and billionaires and jamming through far-left radical
policies that will only drive prices higher and make our paychecks
lower.
If President Biden and congressional Democrats get their way, average
Americans will be pinching pennies while our country's coastal elites
will be legally evading taxes and getting tax subsidies and tax breaks
to put another Tesla in their five-car garage.
Madam Speaker, for that reason, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,''
and I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________