The Build Back Better Act Is The Most Significant Bill For Kids In U.S. History

     From cradle to grave, the Build Back Better Act is an investment that will directly improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans and reduce the cost of being a member of the middle class by more than 10 percent. However, those who stand to benefit the most from this bill are children. Passed by the House, the Build Back Better Act must go to the Senate for a tie vote that will be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris before heading to President Biden's desk to be signed into law. If we can do this, we will be able to look our kids in the eyes and tell them that we can, and, when we can, they can. 

     This bill invests in maternal care, including the Black Health Momnibus Act, a bill that will end the black maternal health crisis and provide funding for prenatal and postnatal care for babies that need it most. 

     This bill will secure universal pre-k for three- and four-year-olds across the country, a major victory for families that will be matched with a provision providing tax credits for childcare. These tax credits will cap the cost of childcare at seven percent of a family's income, allowing millions of parents to afford to provide care for kids of all ages and, therefore, giving them incentive to enter the workforce when they may not have been able to. 

     This bill will lower the costs of prescriptions and housing. It will finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower costs for prescription drugs while also capping the cost of insulin for millions of Americans, with hundreds of thousands of children being among the beneficiaries, at $35 per month. It will make the largest investment in affordable housing in history, providing millions of youth with a secure, stable place to stay.

     This bill will extend the child tax credit that was included in the American Rescue Plan Act, which cut child poverty in half (the largest single decrease in American history) for years to come and make its refundability permanent. 

     The bill will make a major investment in reducing hunger by permanently extending the expansion of school meal programs that were provided to millions of families across America during the COVID pandemic and overhauling America's child nutrition guidelines.

     The Build Back Better Act will invest billions in community violence prevention with a focus on gun violence in communities that need it the most, sparing kids the reality that they or their closest friends and loved ones could be victimized by what has become an epidemic in its own right.

     The Build Back Better Act, when combined with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as well as President Biden's executive actions and budget proposals, would invest nearly $1 trillion in the fight against climate change, which is perhaps the most existential threat that we face right now and has been a focus of President Biden's administration. This will give our kids a renewed hope that their efforts today will not be swept away tomorrow by a catastrophe that could have been avoided.

     For our kids today, for our kids tomorrow, for our nation, we must pass the Build Back Better Act!!!