For Immediate Release: 
September 21, 2021

CLARKE ANNOUNCES POSITION ON DUAL-TRACK PROCESS TO ADVANCE THE BUILD BACK BETTER ACT AND THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN  
 

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, issued the following statement announcing her position on the dual-track progress to advance the build back better act and the bipartisan infrastructure plan: 

“Enough is enough. I cannot in good conscience support this “bipartisan” infrastructure deal – which seems to lack any meaningful Republican support in the House – without assurances the Build Back Better Act will become law and not watered down by special interests seeking to maintain a status quo. A status that has marginalized far too many Americans on our road to recovery. While passing bipartisan legislation is an increasingly rare accomplishment in today’s hyper-partisan landscape, bipartisanship just for the sake of bipartisanship is precisely the kind of “only in DC,” self-congratulatory political theater that allows the inequities of the past to persist to this day; the BIF alone falls far short of what we need to build a more equitable and inclusive society. We are supposed to be here to work on policy not win press conferences. In recent days, forces both internal and external have sought to apply pressure to Democratic Leadership as they lead us down the dual-track process for the BIF and the reconciliation package laid out by Speaker Pelosi months ago. But let me be very clear: any effort to discontinue, delay, or dilute the transformative potential of the Build Back Better Act by compromising on a number of key provisions will not go unnoticed or unanswered.” 

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Yvette D. Clarke has been in Congress since 2007. She represents New York’s Ninth Congressional District, which includes Central and South Brooklyn. Clarke is Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Taskforce on Immigration, a Senior Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and a Senior Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security.