Democratic Party of Georgia Statement on House Vote to Advance the Build Back Better Framework

Today, following the House vote to advance President Biden’s historic Build Back Better framework, Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, released the following statement:

“President Biden and Democrats are on the precipice of passing a historic agenda that will create millions of good-paying jobs, expand access to health care, lower costs, and cut taxes for millions of middle-class families across Georgia — all without raising taxes a single cent for Georgians earning under $400,000 a year. This framework is overwhelmingly popular and will fundamentally transform the lives of millions of Georgians across this state for the better.  

“Because of Democratic leadership, childhood poverty will be cut in half, housing costs will be reduced, America will take a huge step toward addressing the climate crisis, families will be able to afford child care, and small businesses will have the resources they need to get through this pandemic and thrive. While Georgia Republicans go to bat for corporations and the ultra-wealthy, Democrats are moving forwards with the Build Back Better framework to help everyday Georgians get back on track, reward work not wealth, and build a fair economy that works for everyone.”

The Build Back Better framework will deliver for Georgia by: 
 

• Expanding health care coverage and lowering costs. 
  • Health care should be a right, not a privilege, and residents of Georgia facing illness should never have to worry about how they are going to pay for treatment. 
  • The Build Back Better framework will close the Medicaid coverage gap to help millions of Americans gain health insurance, extend through 2025 the American Rescue Plan’s health insurance premium reductions for those who buy coverage on their own, and help older Americans access affordable hearing care by expanding Medicare. 
  • In Georgia, that means 548,000 uninsured people will gain coverage, including the 269,000 who fell into the Medicaid coverage gap, and 262,000 will on average save hundreds of dollars per year. 
  • In addition, the Build Back Better framework will support maternal health and invest in national preparedness for future pandemics.
     
• Cutting taxes for families and workers. 
  • Prior to the pandemic, 15% of children under the age of 18 in Georgia lived in poverty. 
  • The Build Back Better framework will bolster financial security and spur economic growth in Georgia by reducing taxes on the middle class and those striving to break into it. 
  • The framework will extend Child Tax Credit (CTC) increases of $300/month per child under 6 or $250/month per child ages 6 to 17. This will continue the largest one-year reduction in child poverty in history. 
  • And critically, the agreement includes permanent refundability for the Child Tax Credit, meaning that the neediest families will continue to receive the full Child Tax Credit over the long-run. 
  • The framework will also provide a tax cut of up to $1,500 in tax cuts for 570,000 low-wage workers in Georgia by extending the American Rescue Plan’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansion
     
• Providing access to affordable child care. 
  • Child care is a major strain for families in Georgia, where the average annual cost of a child care center for a toddler is $7,500, meaning that a Georgia family with two young children would on average spend 8% of their income on child care for one year. 
  • The lack of affordable options also makes it difficult for parents, and especially mothers, to remain in their jobs, contributing to the 19% gender gap in workforce participation between mothers and fathers in Georgia. 
  • The Build Back Better framework will enable Georgia to provide access to child care for 665,172 young children (ages 0-5) per year from families earning under 2.5 times the Georgia median income (about $200,500 for a family of 4), and ensure these families pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care.
     
• Providing universal, high-quality, free preschool for every 3- and 4-year old in America. 
  • Today, only 29% of the 271,000 3- and 4-year-olds in Georgia have access to publicly-funded preschool, and it costs about $8,600 per year for those who can’t access a publicly-funded program. 
  • The Build Back Better framework will enable Georgia to expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more than 193,000 additional 3- and 4-year-olds per year and increase the quality of preschool for children who are already enrolled. 
  • Parents will be able to send their children to the preschool setting of their choice—from public schools to child care providers to Head Start—leading to lifelong educational benefits, allowing more parents to go back to work, and building a stronger foundation for Georgia’s future economic competitiveness.
     
• Making education beyond high school more affordable and accessible. 
  • The average cost of a 2-year degree in Georgia is $4,026 per year, and $8,885 per year for a 4-year degree, straining many student budgets. 
  • To help unlock the opportunities of an education beyond high school, the Build Back Better framework will increase maximum Pell Grant awards by $550 for students at public and private non-profit institutions, supporting the 195,247 students in Georgia who rely on Pell. 
  • The framework will also invest in Georgia’s 38 minority-serving institutions and the students they serve, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs).
     
• Training America’s workers for the jobs of the future. 
  • Of the world’s biggest economies, the United States is second to last in investing in workforce development, and funding for federal job training programs has dropped by almost half since 2001. 
  • The Build Back Better framework invests in training programs that will prepare Georgia’s workers for high-quality jobs in fast-growing sectors like public health, child care, manufacturing, IT, and clean energy. 32 public community colleges in Georgia will have the opportunity to benefit from
     
• Providing nutritious food options for children. 
  • 14% of children in Georgia live in food insecure households, harming their long-term health and ability to succeed in school. 
  • The Build Back Better framework will ensure that the nutritional needs of Georgia’s children are met by expanding access to free school meals to an additional 148,000 students during the school year and providing 1.1 million students with resources to purchase food over the summer.
     
• Reducing housing costs and expanding housing options. 
  • 654,000 renters in Georgia are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, while homeownership remains out of reach for many families. 
  • The Build Back Better framework will expand rental assistance for Georgia renters, while also increasing the supply of high-quality housing through the construction and rehabilitation of over 1 million affordable housing units nationwide.
  • It will also address the capital needs of the entire public housing stock in America and it includes one of the largest investments in down payment assistance in history, enabling more first-generation homebuyers to purchase their first home.
     
• Supporting families with long-term care needs. 
  • The need for high-quality, accessible, and affordable care for older Americans and disabled Americans is only growing, but high costs and care shortages leave many to rely on family for unpaid caregiving.
  • The Build Back Better framework will expand access to home- and community-based care to more of Georgia’s senior citizens and disabled citizens, and improve the quality and wages of caregiving jobs

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