[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
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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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