WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement on the path forward for the President’s domestic legislative agenda:
“In the months since negotiations around the Build Back Better Act stalled, the case for this legislation has only become more urgent. Public housing residents have endured devastating fires, the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs continue to crush working people, and parents are desperate for child care support. This desperately needed relief cannot be delayed any longer.
“Today, we are calling for President Biden and Senate Democrats to pass the Build Back Better Act by March 1, so the President can use the power of the State of the Union platform to share with the nation the relief that people will soon receive.
“This is both achievable and necessary. There is agreement among Senate Democrats on significant parts of this bill: climate action, the care economy, taking on Big Pharma’s price gouging, and lowering health care costs. There is agreement on the need to reduce rising costs facing ordinary Americans — and that is exactly what Build Back Better does. The White House and Congressional Democrats confronted the crisis of the pandemic to pass the historic American Rescue Plan as well as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, creating millions of jobs. It’s past time to bring that same commitment to delivering Build Back Better.
“Eighty-one million people voted for this President’s agenda, and they were promised results. For the state of our union to truly be strong — in a way that working people can feel in their lives — now is the time for Democrats in the House and Senate to make good on those promises, enact the President’s vision, and pass the Build Back Better Act.”
