Thursday, October 28, 2021
MADISON, Wis. - Opportunity Wisconsin released the following statement after the Build Back Better framework was unveiled today, which would be a once-in-a-generation investment in Wisconsin families that would create millions of good-paying jobs and lower taxes, while making corporations and the rich pay their fair share.
Meghan Roh, Opportunity Wisconsin program director:
“Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, over the last several months we have seen shots in arms, money in pockets, small businesses reopening, students safely returning to the classroom, or simply seniors hugging their grandchildren again. Now it’s time to continue to build on this progress by passing the Build Back Better agenda.
“We strongly urge our elected officials to fully support the Build Better Better framework as we continue to recover from the pandemic and level the playing field for Wisconsin's working families. This plan will lower the costs of things families depend on, help people get back to work, and grow the economy. It’s past time for Senator Ron Johnson and Wisconsin’s Republican congressional representatives—all of whom voted against the American Rescue Plan—to stand with Wisconsin families and pass the Build Back Better Act. If they don’t, it will just be the latest reminder that they’d rather protect corporations from paying any taxes than they would protect people who work for a living.”
The Build Back Better Act will be:
The most transformative investment in children and caregiving in generations. The framework will save most American families more than half of their spending on child care, deliver two years of free preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old in America, give more than 35 million families a major tax cut by extending the expanded Child Tax Credit, and expand access to high-quality home care for older Americans and people with disabilities.
The largest effort to combat climate change in American history. The framework will cut greenhouse gas pollution by well over one gigaton in 2030, reduce consumer energy costs, give our kids cleaner air and water, create hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs, and advance environmental justice by investing in a 21st century clean energy economy – from buildings, transportation, industry, electricity, and agriculture to climate smart practices across our lands and waters.
The biggest expansion of affordable health care coverage in a decade. The framework will reduce premiums for more than 9 million Americans by extending the expanded Premium Tax Credit, deliver health care coverage to up to 4 million uninsured people in states that have locked them out of Medicaid, and help older Americans access affordable hearing care by expanding Medicare.
The most significant effort to bring down costs and strengthen the middle class in generations. The framework will make the single largest and most comprehensive investment in affordable housing in history, expand access to affordable, high-quality education beyond high school, cut taxes for 17 million low-wage workers by extending the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, and advance equity through investments in maternal health, community violence interventions, and nutrition, in addition to better preparing the nation for future pandemics and supply chain disruptions.
And, it is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit by making sure that large, profitable corporations can’t zero out their tax bills, no longer rewarding corporations that shift jobs and profits overseas, asking more from millionaires and billionaires, and stopping rich Americans from cheating on their tax bills. Under this historic agreement, nobody earning less than $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
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