Transforming America: The Build Back Better Act

If you have checked the news in the last six months, you have likely seen article after article on the Build Back Better Act. Most of this coverage discusses the cost of the bill, how Senators Manchin and Sinema are holding up the social-spending package, or what programs are not included in the act. However, little coverage discusses the desperately needed programs encompassed within the bill. Polling confirms this fact, according to an ABC News - Ipsos poll that was taken near the end of October, a mere 25 percent of Americans believe that Build Back Better (BBB) will improve their lives and an astounding 69 percent claim that they know only a little or nothing at all about the package (Ipsos). These statistics reveal that the American public needs a “crash course” on the measures encompassed in BBB and why these measures would significantly improve their lives. The provisions in the act fall into three categories: mitigating climate change, providing healthcare, and supporting families.

Mitigating Climate Change:

The average temperature has already risen one-degree Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, which has caused many negative effects including an increase in hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts (National Center for Atmospheric Science). However, there is still time to prevent the most extreme effects of climate change if we act now to keep the increase in temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius (International Panel on Climate Change). BBB will invest over half a trillion in ensuring that the most catastrophic effects of climate change are prevented. According to the research-focused Rhodium Group, the act would reduce US carbon emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2030; a potentially phenomenal achievement (Rhodium Group). The bill reduces emissions in too many ways to directly discuss; however, two examples of these means are tax credits and government investments. One tax credit in the bill would be given to energy developers hoping to put clean energy into the power grid. On top of increasing the amount of clean energy in the grid by 20 to 30 percent, the tax credits would create 600,000 new jobs (Center for American Progress). Another tax credit in the bill is a point-of-sale credit for buyers of new and used electric vehicles of up to 12,000 dollars, a provision that is projected to increase the number of light-duty electric vehicles on the road from 2 percent to between 41 and 61 percent by 2031, a drastic increase (Rhodium Group). Additionally, the bill would invest in clean, American manufacturing. Currently, manufacturing accounts for nearly a quarter of U.S. emissions, but BBB hopes to change this fact (World Economic Forum). The bill includes a series of provisions that encourage companies to build green energy sources (solar panels, wind turbines, etc.) in the United States. Moreover, the bill supports companies willing to upgrade their factories to become more environmentally friendly (Alkin Group). These are just three examples of provisions designed to fight climate change in the bill. Even from this small sampling of climate action measures, it is easy to see how BBB will drastically reduce carbon emissions and benefit every American.

For more information: An extensive line-by-line explanation of the provisions in the climate change section of the bill can be found here.

Providing Healthcare:

Despite having worse outcomes, Americans spend more than any other wealthy nation on healthcare (Health System Tracker). BBB will make high-quality healthcare cheaper for every American. The bill will expand Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA, commonly referred to as “Obamacare”), along with implementing common-sense drug price reforms. Just like with the climate change provisions, there are simply too many beneficial healthcare reforms to mention all of them, so this section will discuss three of the major reforms. First, the bill would “close the gap” for the 2.2 million Americans who, “had incomes too low to qualify for marketplace plan [health insurance] subsidies yet were not eligible for Medicaid because their state refused to implement the ACA expansion,” (Center for American Progress) meaning that they are uninsured. However, BBB would force states to implement the ACA expansion, allowing millions of Americans to be able to afford insurance. Additionally, the bill will end the ridiculous “noninterference” clause in the Social Security Act that prevents Medicare part D from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices (Kaiser Family Foundation). According to analytics done by the RAND Corporation, a reputable government analysis organization, due to increased competition, drug prices are 2.56 times lower in nations with government negotiation programs, like the one proposed in BBB, indicating that this measure will drastically decrease the cost of drugs in the United States (RAND Corporation). The final healthcare reform is stopping outrageous drug price hikes by pharmaceutical companies, which prevent Americans from affording life-saving medications. The bill will reduce these ridiculous price hikes by forcing companies that raise their drug prices by an absurd amount, more than the rate of inflation, to pay a rebate (basically a fine) to the federal government; this common-sense reform would apply to all non-generic drugs (Inside Health Policy, House Rules Committee). Clearly, BBB will be transformational in improving the American healthcare system.

Supporting Families:

America is one of only a handful of industrialized nations without universal child care; BBB would end this embarrassment (Economist). The cardinal proposal of this section is providing universal child care to millions of families. The average preschool tuition is 11,502 dollars a year in Massachusetts, with many pre-schools being even more costly (Private School Review). The bill will revolutionize childcare by devoting billions of dollars over six years to creating and supporting subsidized childcare for most three and four-year-olds, providing childcare for low-income children too young to go to preschool, and other necessary investments into early childhood education, such as money to pay childcare workers more. (Vox). The next huge benefit provided in the bill is maintaining the expanded child tax credit included in the pandemic relief package passed earlier this year. If made permanent by BBB, the expanded tax credit would reduce child poverty in the United States by 19 percent (1.9 million kids), an obvious benefit (Jain Family Institute). These two programs, subsidizing child care and expanding the child tax credit, will drastically improve the livelihoods of millions of families and children.

Conclusion:

From reducing child poverty by 19 percent to increasing the amount of green energy in the power grid by up to 30 percent and everything in between, BBB would be a genuinely transformative law. However, the bill must first pass through congress, and this can only be done with everyone’s help. While basic steps, such as protesting and calling your representatives, will be beneficial, the most helpful thing you can do to get this bill passed is to educate your family and friends about the numerous benefits of the bill. Ultimately, passing BBB will be challenging but possible, if we all help inform others of the beneficial programs included in Build Back Better.