[1]Pramila Jayapal



Our popular Build Back Better Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to
make child care more affordable, lower health insurance premiums, cut the
cost of prescription drugs, invest in housing, and so much more — all in
one bill.

I refuse to stand by and let this long-overdue agenda go down without a
fight. 

That's why I took a moment to write an op-ed for the Washington Post that
discusses why we must continue doing everything possible to move forward
on Build Back Better. As the Omicron variant continues to upend people's
ability to work, care for children and elders, access medical care, and so
much more, it's clear: we cannot afford to abandon our vision. Not with so
much on the line.

[ [link removed] ]If you're still with me in the fight for delivering on our popular and
progressive priorities in the Build Back Better Act, will you chip in
$3 toward our December 31 deadline goal of $322,500? We need
to start 2022 strong — and I know we will with supporters like you on our
side.

[ [link removed] ]Chip in $3 »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[3]Washington Post logo

Broken promises cannot deter the path to Build Back Better
By: Pramila Jayapal
December 26, 2021

Nearly a year ago, President Biden laid out his Build Back Better agenda:
a broad vision to meet the individual and collective challenges Americans
face, necessarily ambitious to address crises both created and exposed by
the pandemic. For most of 2021, Democrats worked to pass legislation that
realizes that vision. The president negotiated with Congress, including
Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) directly.
Sen. Manchin committed to the president — who relayed that commitment to
House members — that he would support the legislative framework unveiled
on Oct. 28.

But on Dec. 20, Sen. Manchin went back on his commitment to the president
and seemingly killed the bill on national television. In a town where your
word is everything, this was a stunning rebuke of his own party's
president.

Despite that, we must move forward. The president's agenda is even more
urgent today. The omicron variant is surging as covid-19 has once again
disrupted people's ability to work, care for children and elders, access
medical care and make ends meet. We simply cannot abandon our vision.

To craft a path forward, it's important to look at how we got here. Last
spring, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) called for one
comprehensive bill to deliver the president's agenda. But seeking a show
of bipartisanship, the White House, at the urging of conservative
Democratic senators, split the legislation into two vehicles: what
eventually became the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build
Back Better Act. The latter contained 85 percent of the president's
domestic agenda.

This decision's effect was to push Build Back Better — and the communities
it would uniquely benefit — to the back of the line. People of color,
women and young people helped deliver the White House and Congress to
Democrats, but their needs were consistently delayed in search of
bipartisanship.

Low-hanging bipartisan provisions were prioritized over the
transformational: child care to allow women to return to the workplace,
assistance for caregiving jobs primarily held by immigrant women of color,
climate action, lower drug prices, a road map to citizenship for
immigrants, and tax reforms taking on special interests. Dividing the
president's agenda gave corporate America a chance to dedicate itself to
killing Build Back Better. When Senate Democrats passed the infrastructure
bill without a commitment of support for Build Back Better, the CPC was
left to protect the latter — often in the face of remarkable pressure.

Yet a majority of our caucus twice held the line, refusing to pass
infrastructure until serious negotiations took place on Build Back Better.
President Biden worked with the two senators and the House to craft the
Oct. 28 framework agreement. The CPC held the line again to translate the
framework into legislation, inking an agreement with six remaining
holdouts among House Democrats to ensure our chamber passed both bills. A
majority of our members relied on the president's word that he had a
commitment from Sen. Manchin to support the framework. We believed we had
reached our point of maximum leverage — and if we held up infrastructure
again, Sen. Manchin would walk away from Build Back Better entirely and
possibly even both proposals.

The Progressive Caucus will continue to work toward legislation for Build
Back Better, focused on keeping it as close to the agreed-upon framework
as possible. At the same time, we are calling on the president to use
executive action to immediately improve people's lives. Taking executive
action will also make clear to those who hinder Build Back Better that the
White House and Democrats will deliver for Americans. The CPC will soon
release a plan for these actions, including lowering costs, protecting the
health of every family, and showing the world that the United States is
serious about our leadership on climate action.

We can't be naive about the difficulty of once again negotiating with
someone who has not kept his commitments. But legislation remains the best
path for delivering enduring relief. Nor can we underestimate the urgency
to act, especially as covid is surging and so many constituencies —
seniors, people of color, working and young people — are disillusioned.
Democrats must prove that their voices and their votes matter, and that we
can produce tangible economic assistance.

The Progressive Caucus has always believed in leaving no one behind. We
call on our governing partners to join us in advancing that philosophy,
guided by racial, gender and economic justice — not corporations' bottom
lines. This moment for the Biden administration and Congress can either
lead to our greatest failure or our greatest success. If we use every tool
at our disposal to redouble our efforts to deliver for our communities,
with the most urgent needs of the American people as our guide, success is
possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------



[ [link removed] ]Chip in $3 »




 


Contribute to Pramila Jayapal: [link removed]

This email was sent to [email protected]. Email is the most important way for us to reach you about opportunities to get involved. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe:

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]


Paid for by Pramila for Congress.