Trahan Votes to Advance Build Back Better Act Provisions Key for Massachusetts Families' Recovery

Press Release

LOWELL, MA -- Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) voted to advance key provisions of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act under her jurisdiction as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The once-in-a-generation legislation will prove key as hardworking families continue down the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through investments in children, workers, and the middle class.

"Passage of President Biden's Build Back Better Act will ensure that we have the tools, resources, and authority necessary to tackle the crises facing hardworking families here in the Third District and beyond," said Congresswoman Trahan. "Working families will have the support necessary to succeed in an economy that finally works for them, including access to affordable health care, quality child care, and lower taxes. Our hospitals and health centers will have the funding necessary to tackle this pandemic and future public health threats while also strengthening the pipeline of future health care workers. We'll be able to take a whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change, including incentivizing robust private support for a clean energy economy that treats the climate crisis like the national security threat it is. And the entire nation will benefit from a shorter economic recovery that sees workers gaining employment, small businesses flourishing, and America reestablishing our leadership on the world stage once again. That's what the American people -- Democratic, Republican, and Independent alike -- support, and today's vote gets us one step closer to making that a reality."

The Build Back Better Act will make historic investments in the American people by lowering costs for American families, making health care more accessible and affordable, revitalizing the economy, and combating the climate crisis. The provisions of the bill supported by Trahan during the Energy and Commerce Committee's markup today will have a tangible effect on the lives of hardworking families across the Third District and the Commonwealth as a whole.

Health Care:

The Build Back Better Act builds on the historic coverage gains and better health care value provided to families through the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan. The legislation also expands access for underserved and vulnerable communities. Specifically, the legislation:

Guarantees that no American purchasing health insurance is forced to spend no more than 8.5 percent of their income for meaningful comprehensive coverage.
Expands dental, hearing, and vision coverage to millions of Medicare beneficiaries who currently lack access to these critical services.
Makes the enhanced Marketplace premium tax credits included in the American Rescue Plan permanent, ensuring that lower-income and middle-class Americans will continue saving thousands on their health insurance premiums.
Protects recipients of Social Security benefit lump-sum payments enrolled in Marketplace coverage from facing an unexpected tax burden.
Invests $190 billion to allow more seniors and individuals with disabilities to receive the services they need in their homes and strengthen the direct care workforce by improving provider payment rates and giving states the resources to improve their care infrastructure.
Protects health care access for 9.6 million children in low-income families by permanently extending the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Finally closes the Medicaid coverage gap and expands coverage to low-income individuals by preempting states that refused to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This provision will deliver coverage to as many as 4 million Americans.
Protecting Health Care Workforce:

Frontline health care workers have done incredible work under grueling conditions for 18 months, and they are feeling the brunt of those herculean efforts. During a roundtable discussion with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at Lowell General Hospital last month, doctors and nurses detailed how badly federal investments are needed to bolster the health care workforce. To that end, the Build Back Better Act:

Expands the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education programs and residency slots by investing $6 billion to address primary care workforce needs.
Prioritizes underserved populations by investing $1 billion in schools of medicine and $1 billion in schools of nursing in underserved areas.
Supports children's hospitals by providing $250 million for Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment program which helps train the next generation of pediatric physicians and dentists.
Invests in the maternal and perinatal health workforce by investing $150 million for accredited nursing schools to grow and diversify the nursing workforce in maternal and perinatal health, $50 million to establish or expand programs to grow and diversify the doula workforce, and $75 million to support the workforce in maternal mental health and substance use disorder treatment.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of obtaining and retaining an adequate public health and health care workforce. It also exposed the key gaps in our nation's health workforce, particularly in achieving core public health functions that are especially important during health emergencies. As the nation works to further address the spread of the virus, there is a unique opportunity to develop a more sustainable health workforce, and the Build Back Better Act makes the necessary investments to help achieve that goal.

Combating Climate Change:

The cost of further inaction to combat climate change is catastrophic. In 2019, the United States experienced 14 major natural disasters costing Americans $91 billion. Last year, 22 major natural disasters cost Americans a record-shattering $95 billion in damages. So far, 2021 has been yet another record-setting year of climate catastrophe, putting the U.S. on track for this to be yet another year of record-breaking natural disasters. To make matters worse, these figures only represent the direct costs of physical damages. They do not reflect the cost of lost jobs, lost wages, health care expenses, or the trauma of more and more Americans losing their homes and livelihoods.

The Build Back Better Act provides the tools needed to tackle the climate crisis and position the United States as a leader in the global transition to clean energy economies by investing:

$150 billion in a Clean Electricity Performance Program that will help meet national climate goals.
$27.5 billion in a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for nonprofit, state, and local climate finance institutions that support the rapid deployment of low- and zero-emission technologies, of which at least 40 percent of investments will be made to low-income and disadvantaged communities.
$13.5 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure to support development of an electric vehicle charging network to assist the transition to zero emissions vehicles.
$7 billion in multiple federal loan and grant programs to support American manufacturing of zero emission transportation technologies.
$9 billion to create a 21st Century energy grid capable of ensuring reliable delivery of clean energy throughout the United States.
$18 billion in home energy efficiency and appliance electrification rebates to address buildings, which account for 30 percent of greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S.
$2.5 billion for planning and installing solar facilities and community solar projects that serve low-income households or multi-family affordable house complexes.
The legislation also establishes a methane fee on pollution from the oil and gas industry above specific intensity thresholds, invests $10 billion for the cleanup of Superfund sites like those across the Third District, and allocates $30 billion for the full replacement of lead service lines in drinking water systems throughout the country.

Pandemic Preparedness:

As a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Pandemic Preparedness Caucus, securing investments in pandemic preparedness response has been a priority of Trahan's as the Committee has compiled this portion of the legislation. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated just how devastating cuts to America's preparedness and response programs have been over the past several decades. The nation's public health preparedness and response capabilities remain inadequate. The Build Back Better Act provides targeted investments in pandemic preparedness so the United States will be able to address any future public health emergencies head on by:

Enhancing and expanding testing capacity by providing $5 billion for state and local public health laboratory infrastructure, including through increasing and enhancing testing and response capacity, upgrading and expanding the Laboratory Response Network for rapid outbreak detection, improving and expanding genomic sequencing capabilities to detect emerging diseases and variant strain, and expanding biosafety and biosecurity capacity.
Supporting surge capacity that can be activated in the event of an outbreak, through $3 billion for procurement and domestic manufacturing of medical supplies, such as drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices, syringes, needles, and PPE, for the Strategic National Stockpile, similar to legislation introduced by Trahan last year.
Mitigating supply chain risk through $2 billion in support for critical medical supplies, including supplies in shortage or at risk of shortage.
Expanding efforts at CDC to strengthen vaccine confidence, and vaccine programs in order to improve rates of vaccination through a $1.25 billion investment.
Includes $1 billion for surveillance activities at CDC, including to enhance and strengthen early warning and detection systems, and surveillance based in hospitals or other health care providers or facilities.
Improves global and domestic vaccine production capacity through a $2 billion investment.
As Trahan said when she launched the Pandemic Preparedness Caucus, "We owe it to these heroes and to all those we represent to use the lessons learned from this pandemic to improve our response to future surges of COVID-19 and other public health crises."

Protecting Public Safety:

As workers continue returning to the workforce in record numbers, they deserve to know that their families' safety and privacy are being prioritized. The Build Back Better Act contains critical provisions related to communications and technology that will save lives, promote innovation, and invest in children, including:

$10 billion in grants for the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 services to make 9-1-1 service more accessible, effective, and resilient. This service would protect first responders and save lives by allowing callers to send text messages, images, or videos to 9-1-1 to help responders better assess the nature of an emergency and reach people in need.
Bridging the homework gap by providing an additional $4 billion to the Emergency Connectivity Fund to ensure students, school staff, and library patrons have internet connectivity and devices at locations other than a school or library.
A priority of Trahan's as a member of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, the legislation protects consumers and businesses by providing the Federal Trade Commission with $1 billion to create and operate a new bureau dedicated to stopping unfair and deceptive acts and practices related to privacy violations, data security incidents, identity theft, and other data abuses.
Helping foster innovation by setting aside 200 MHz of our nation's airwaves for auction, raising revenues for the Treasury while also allowing for permissionless, opportunistic, or licensed by rule uses of spectrum to help Americans invent the next big breakthrough in wireless technology.
Following today's vote, the Energy and Commerce Committee's portion of the Build Back Better Act is complete. A final House vote on the total legislative package is expected in the coming weeks.

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