    [House Report 117-130]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

    117th Congress   }                                      {       Report
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
     1st Session     }                                      {      117-130
    _______________________________________________________________________

                             BUILD BACK BETTER ACT

                                   ----------

                                  R E P O R T

                                     of the

                            COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                  to accompany

                                   H.R. 5376

                                 together with

                                 MINORITY VIEWS

                                  BOOK 1 OF 3

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

     September 27, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
                the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

    117th Congress   }                                      {       Report
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
     1st Session     }                                      {      117-130
    _______________________________________________________________________

                             BUILD BACK BETTER ACT

                                   __________

                                  R E P O R T

                                     of the

                            COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                  to accompany

                                   H.R. 5376

                                 together with

                                 MINORITY VIEWS

                                  BOOK 1 OF 3

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

     September 27, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
                the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
                                 _________

                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    45-622                   WASHINGTON : 2021

                            COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

                      JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky, Chairman
    HAKEEM S. JEFFRIES, New York         JASON SMITH, Missouri,
    BRIAN HIGGINS, New York                Ranking Member
    BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania,      TRENT KELLY, Mississippi
      Vice Chairman                      TOM McCLINTOCK, California
    LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas                 GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
    DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina       LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania
    JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois       CHRIS JACOBS, New York
    DANIEL T. KILDEE, Michigan           MICHAEL BURGESS, Texas
    JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York          BUDDY CARTER, Georgia
    STEVEN HORSFORD, Nevada              BEN CLINE, Virginia
    BARBARA LEE, California              LAUREN BOEBERT, Colorado
    JUDY CHU, California                 BYRON DONALDS, Florida
    STACEY E. PLASKETT, Virgin Islands   RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
    JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia            BOB GOOD, Virginia
    ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia  ASHLEY HINSON, Iowa
    SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas            JAY OBERNOLTE, California
    JIM COOPER, Tennessee                CAROL MILLER, West Virginia
    ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
    SCOTT H. PETERS, California
    SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts
    PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington

                               Professional Staff

                         DIANA MEREDITH, Staff Director
                      MARK ROMAN, Minority Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Introduction by the Committee on the Budget......................     3
    Title I--Committee on Agriculture................................  1515
    Title II--Committee on Education and Labor.......................  1535
    Title III--Committee on Energy and Commerce......................  1644
    Title IV--Committee on Financial Services........................  1801
    Title V--Committee on Homeland Security..........................  1857
    Title VI--Committee on the Judiciary.............................  1858
    Title VII--Committee on Natural Resources........................  1864
    Title VIII--Committee on Oversight and Reform....................  1915
    Title IX--Committee on Science, Space, and Technology............  1917
    Title X--Committee on Small Business.............................  1930
    Title XI--Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.........  1964
    Title XII--Committee on Veterans' Affairs........................  1991
    Title XIII--Committee on Ways and Means..........................  1994
    Committee on the Budget:
        Votes of the Committee on the Budget.........................  1493
        Other House Report Requirements..............................  1507
        Views of Committee Members...................................  1509
    Build Back Better Act (legislative text).........................  1515

    117th Congress   }                                      {       Report
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
     1st Session     }                                      {      117-130

    ======================================================================

                             BUILD BACK BETTER ACT

                                    _______

     September 27, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
                the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                    _______

                Mr. Yarmuth, from the Committee on the Budget,
                            submitted the following

                                  R E P O R T

                                 together with

                                 MINORITY VIEWS

                            [To accompany H.R. 5376]

        The Committee on the Budget, to whom reconciliation
    recommendations were submitted pursuant to title II of S. Con.
    Res. 14, the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal
    year 2022, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
    without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                  INTRODUCTION BY THE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

                                  ----------

        Since the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in the United
    States nearly two years ago, the pandemic and resulting
    economic fallout have exposed and exacerbated underlying and
    systemic inequities and deficiencies in our society,
    highlighting the interconnected nature of these pressing
    challenges. The need for bold, transformative, and visionary
    investments in our nation and communities is long overdue.

    The Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 Paved the
                       way for the Build Back Better Act

        The 2022 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 14) laid the
    groundwork for the Build Back Better Act by providing the
    option of using the budget reconciliation process to make
    historic investments in our communities and country. This
    reconciliation bill is the next step toward implementing the
    plan.
        Budget reconciliation has been used by Democrats and
    Republicans over the past four decades for a variety of
    purposes, including reducing the deficit, expanding access to
    health coverage, restricting eligibility and benefits in
    safety-net programs, handing out deficit-increasing GOP tax
    cuts heavily weighted to the wealthy, and providing urgently
    needed relief and stimulus during the Covid-19 crisis. There is
    nothing inherently partisan about using budget reconciliation.
    Many past budget reconciliation bills had bipartisan support;
    some did not. The process helps ensure that Congress can move
    forward and meet the country's needs. Without reconciliation,
    the bold action outlined by the President could languish
    indefinitely in the Senate, putting the future well being and
    prosperity of Americans at risk.
        Decades of disinvestment in our nation and its people have
    resulted in serious deficits in our society, spanning nearly
    every sector. We can no longer afford the costs of neglect and
    inaction--Congress must act expeditiously to enact the Build
    Back Better Act and deliver these critical investments.

             We Face Numerous, Inerconnected Crises and Challenges

        The coronavirus pandemic has infected tens of millions of
    Americans and taken the lives of nearly 700,000 loved ones,
    devastating families and communities. The corresponding
    economic crisis led to a record loss of more than 22 million
    jobs, skyrocketing unemploy ment insurance claims, a child care
    crisis and mass exodus of women from the work force, and a
    historic decline in growth. The climate crisis is displacing
    families, upending local economies, and endangering our
    national security. And our nation is reckoning with our racial
    justice crisis, as the effects of systemic racism and
    underlying inequities are being exposed and brought to the
    forefront of our nation's conscience.
        While the American Rescue Plan and other rescue packages
    helped address immediate health and economic concerns, they
    were not a long-term solution to many of the pressing
    challenges facing our nation. In fact, many of these pressing
    challenges have only compounded.
        Driven by the child care problems created by the pandemic,
    women have fallen out of the labor force in record numbers.
    Children are attending schools in buildings with crumbling
    infrastructure and no internet. Too many families do not have
    safe and affordable housing to live in. Rising health care
    costs are putting a strain on budgets for families and
    businesses. College has become unaffordable for too many
    students. Our veterans are being treated in hospitals and
    clinics that are in critical need of updating. Workers lack
    support when welcoming a new child or caring for a loved one.
    And we face a catastrophic climate crisis that threatens life
    as we know it.
        We can no longer afford the costs of neglect and inaction--
    the time to act is now. The future of our nation and millions
    of American families are at stake.

                           The Build Back Better Act

        The Build Back Better Act makes the transformative
    investments at the scale necessary to meet the needs of the
    American people, address dangerous deficits in our society,
    improve our economic outlook, and set America up to compete and
    win in the decades ahead. With the Build Back Better Act, we
    will:
        Cut taxes for the middle class. The Build Back Better Act
    will deliver one of the biggest middle class tax cuts in
    history, keeping more money in the pockets of working families.
    The plan expands and enhances support for individuals and
    families with children, including the Child Tax Credit, the
    Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax
    Credit for childless workers. The expanded Child Tax Credit
    alone will lead to 90 percent of families and nearly 39 million
    households receiving a major tax cut. With over a third of
    adults with children struggling to pay for basic expenses like
    food, rent, health care and transportation, the expanded Child
    Tax Credit will make a substantial difference in families'
    lives.
        Create jobs. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S.
    economy experienced record job loss and deep scars that we are
    still recovering from. The Build Back Better Act will invest in
    work force development to help workers train and get better
    jobs. The investments in higher education will also create a
    more skilled and dynamic work force and help position the
    United States as a global leader in innovation and the jobs of
    the future. The resources for child care and universal pre-k
    will help parents return to work knowing that their children
    are in good hands, while also creating more jobs in the care
    economy. Additionally, funded programs will create a new,
    diverse work force focused on addressing climate change and
    funding community resilience projects across the country.
        Lower costs for working families. The plan's investments
    will lower costs for working families with:
         Investments to lower drug prices--Americans pay
    higher prescription drug prices than people in other wealthy
    countries, and nearly a quarter of Americans struggle to afford
    their prescription drugs. The investments in the Build Back
    Better Act will allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices,
    lowering costs for seniors and the Federal Government.
         Investments to lower health care costs--Too many
    families struggle to pay for health care, and millions of
    people are locked out of Medicaid because of states' refusal to
    expand the program under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The
    resources in the Build Back Better Act will reduce premiums for
    Marketplace plans under the ACA, close the Medicaid coverage
    gap, and add dental, hearing and vision coverage to Medicare
    for the very first time.
         Investments to lower child care costs--Child care
    and high quality pre-k are expenses that most families struggle
    to afford and are a particular challenge for low-income
    families and families of color. The investments in the Build
    Back Better Act will create a comprehensive child care and
    universal pre-k program which will subsidize child care for
    families and provide high quality pre-k for all three-and four-
    year-olds.
         Investments to lower the cost of education--Higher
    education has become a towering expense for most students, but
    increasingly useful in today's economy. The funding in the
    Build Back Better Act will provide two years of free community
    college to all students. These investments will also expand the
    value of the Pell Grant and provide funding for minority
    serving institutions to better support and serve their
    students.
        Tackle the climate crisis and strengthen resilience. The
    climate crisis is an existential threat that must be handled
    immediately. Postponing action will only make life harder for
    millions of families and endanger more lives as extreme weather
    events intensify. The Build Back Better Act will provide
    comprehensive investments, including clean energy and
    transportation tax credits, to help us reduce our carbon
    footprint. It 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. The plan will also drive economic opportunities,
    environmental conservation, and climate resilience--especially
    in under served and disadvantaged communities.
        Ensure Fiscal Responsibility. The Build Back Better Act
    ultimately will not add to the debt. This plan is prudently
    offset by provisions to ensure that high earners and
    corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Americans making
    less than $400,000 a year will not see their taxes increase by
    a penny. It is estimated that the top 1 percent evades $160
    billion in taxes each year while a typical working American
    pays their taxes. In 2020, 55 of the largest corporations paid
    zero dollars in Federal income taxes on more than $40 billion
    in profits. The Build Back Better Act will implement key
    reforms to make our tax system more equitable. It will repeal
    some of the nearly $2 trillion in unpaid tax giveaways to the
    wealthiest corporations and individuals enacted under the Trump
    Administration.
        Additionally, it is estimated that the Build Back Better
    Act will stimulate future economic growth, further helping to
    offset the costs of the plan. Leading economists project that
    the Build Back better Act will also ease longer-term
    inflationary pressures and, most importantly, help more
    Americans participate in the economy, resulting in a more
    equitable economy powered by shared prosperity and inclusive
    growth.

     The Budget Committee's Role in Delivering the Build Back Better Plan
                                      Act

        The major steps in the reconciliation process, as provided
    for under Section 310 of the Budget Act, and how they apply in
    this instance, are the following:
        The Budget Resolution. Reconciliation can be triggered only
    by the adoption of a budget resolution. Therefore, the Fiscal
    Year 2022 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 14), passed in
    August, carried reconciliation instructions for 13 committees
    that have jurisdiction over some portion of the Build Back
    Better Act.
        Authorizing Committees. Thirteen authorizing committees
    marked up legislative provisions pursuant to their instructions
    and transmitted them to the Committee on the Budget. This
    report incorporates the detailed descriptions of the provisions
    provided in the committees' submissions to the Budget
    Committee.
        The Budget Committee. Having received the submissions, the
    Committee on the Budget, as provided for under Section 310 of
    the Budget Act, has bound the provisions together, without
    substantive change, into a single measure--a reconciliation
    bill--and met to report the measure to the House for floor
    consideration.

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