Press Releases

Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes to Support the Build Back Better Act

“Through the Build Back Better Act, we are advancing an economic plan that puts workers, women, children, and ordinary people first.  It will provide a tax cut for low- and middle-class families, help those families address the rising costs of health care, childcare, and housing, creating jobs, while helping ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share and that it does not add to the deficit.

I am especially proud that the bill retains many of the transformative provisions such as extensions of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, Low Income Housing Tax Credit, paid family and medical leave, and investments in elder care and childcare that were advanced out of the Ways and Means Committee.

I know that women at every rung of the economic ladder were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. This bill answers to these struggles with investments in the childcare and paid leave that supports them and millions of families. This provision will especially benefit those of modest means who, like many others, face the dilemma of either losing pay or caring for a loved one.

Building Back Better will also help ensure every child has a fair to shot to succeed. That means supporting their educational success, which is why I am so thrilled to support universal pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old. When every child has access to a quality education, it makes us a stronger country and levels the playing field.  The White House estimates that the bill will improve access to childcare for nearly 360,000 young children (ages 0-5) per year in Wisconsin while ensuring that families do not more than 7% of their income on high-quality childcare. Another 80,000 Wisconsin children will benefit from the bill’s investments in high quality preschool.

The bill also means investing in child nutrition programs to reduce the toll that food insecurity is having in our communities, especially on our children.

In this bill, we continue the strengthened Child Tax Credit which has proven to be a real lifeline for families working to recover while proving a tax cut for households of modest means.   The extension of the Child Tax Credit expansion will fight child poverty, help families pay bills and buy essentials while buoying the economy. 70 percent of our economy is based on consumer spending, meaning that middle-and lower income Americans need to have the means to fully participate in our economy.

The legislation also includes provisions to help protect Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants and provide work authorization. Fixing our broken immigration system remains a priority House Democrats and this proposal reflects a commitment to pass meaningful relief for a portion of the undocumented population given the restrictions of the reconciliation process. 

We also expand access to affordable and high-quality health care through the ACA, including for those eligible Americans who live in the 12 states that have not t expanded Medicaid because GOP lawmakers want to play politics. The bill would further build upon the ARP changes to ACA subsidies that created more affordable plans for more Americans. 

And in response to more and more Americans who have felt the squeeze from rising housing costs, this bold legislation also pours resources into our housing infrastructure to help create more than 1 million affordable homes, increase funding for housing vouchers, and providing down payment assistance for first-time homeowners. The dream of homeownership will be in greater reach for many Americans, including my constituents.

The bill would also help lower the cost of prescription drugs, by authorizing Medicare for the first time to negotiate for lower prices.  The bill would also provide an out-of-pocket cap on drug costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries and create a new Medicare hearing health benefit.  

The critical legislation also makes the largest ever investment in fighting climate change, supporting clean energy and addressing communities of color who are now facing the impacts of environmental racism. That includes robust investments in transit and programs to help reconnect communities torn apart by highways, investments in helping to remove lead pipes and lead paint, and to help increase air quality monitoring in those communities that are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change and other environmental impacts.

I know there is much work to continue, but this bill puts America on a promising path towards tackling the climate crisis.

And I fully support the bill’s investments in Maternal Health, including funding for provisions that I helped secure to help train a more culturally competent and diverse maternal health workforce.  These live saving investments can’t come a moment too soon for my district where women of color are dying at rates at least three times that of other women.  Along with a provision to permanently extend Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum in all states—a key period that experts have noted when pregnant individuals are at risk. This bill begins to make the serious investments that make clear that these women matter. 

While this legislation doesn’t include all the provisions I fought for, it is the product of hard work, compromise, and negotiations on behalf of the American people. I know it will help answer to the pressing needs of my constituents and millions of Americans.”

Read more on the Build Back Better Act here.

Read more on the Build Back Better Act’s impact on Wisconsin here.