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WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko today celebrated the House passage of the Build Back Better Act, transformational legislation that dovetails the recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure framework by lowering costs for American families, tackling the climate crisis, supporting children and expanding health care all while ensuring any American making less than $400,000 doesn’t pay a penny more.

“For far too long, families in our Capital Region and across the nation have been held back by soaring costs, from housing and education to child and health care, all while the worsening climate crisis continues to threaten communities and destroy lives and livelihoods,” Congressman Tonko said. “Inaction can no longer be the answer. Today, I joined Democrats in the House to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to build back better. Our legislation will create millions of good-paying jobs, bring historic middle-class tax cuts, lower family and health care costs and forge a path to a cleaner, stronger future. I’m proud to help deliver these long-awaited investments that will unleash the full potential of every worker and family while ensuring the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.”

The Build Back Better Act:

• Lowers families’ health care costs by strengthening the Affordable Care Act, closing the coverage gap, and improving the benefits of Medicare, including allowing Medicare to negotiate proves for high-cost prescription medication, directly lowering drug costs for seniors
• Includes Tonko’s Medicaid Reentry Act to expand access to addiction treatment and other health services for incarcerated individuals transitioning back into the community
• Saves most families more than half their spending on child care
• Delivers free pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old in America
• Gives more than 35 million families a major tax cut by extending the expanded Child Tax Credit
• Expands access to high-quality home care for older adults and those with disabilities
• Delivers more than $550 billion to support clean energy development and fight climate change, including clean energy tax credits that support the growth of good family-supporting jobs, domestic manufacturing and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure
• Expands offshore wind development in federal waters in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Atlantic and the U.S. territories.
• Provides $150 billion in affordable housing investments to expand rental assistance for hundreds of thousands of households and preserve public housing for millions of residents

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