American Families Plan
Floor Speech
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Mr. EVANS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from the great State of New York for his leadership. In such a short period of time, what he has demonstrated to all of us about being a leader, I applaud him for this.
I am pleased to join with my colleagues in the Progressive Caucus as we continue to advocate for President Biden's American Families Plan and investing in the care economy.
That means things like funding for high-quality, affordable childcare, including universal pre-K; making sure that childcare costs do not exceed 7 percent of income for working families; ensuring that childcare workers, who are largely women and people of color, have a $15 minimum wage--let me repeat that--ensuring that childcare workers, who are largely women and people of color, have a $15 minimum wage; and meaningful investments in Medicare home and community-based services, which would help workers in the home care industry.
Everyone would like to say they are pro-family and pro-children. This is the chance to prove it.
Earlier this month, I joined with SEIU members in Philadelphia to rally for passing $400 billion for caregiving. I told them funding for childcare and other caregiving is essential, since we actually want people to be able to go back to work.
We started this year off big and bold with $1.9 trillion in the American Rescue Plan. That was a big step in the right direction. It was a down payment.
The American people voted into office a Democratic President, a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic House. As we promise to build back better, they expect us to do more than just reset the calendar to February 2020. The old normal wasn't so great for millions of Americans, including many Philadelphians I represent. They deserve better than the old normal. The American Families Plan would do a lot to deliver on our promise. Let's get it done.
Again, I thank Mr. Bowman for his leadership and the importance of this leadership and all the members of the Progressive Caucus demonstrating how we are going to lead the charge.
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