LEGISLATIVE & POLITICAL
BAC Applauds Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Calls for Action on The Build Back Better Budget
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s this issue of the BAC Journal goes to press, Congress is debating the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act. This $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill is a historic piece of legislation that would revitalize America’s infrastructure and create at least 15 million jobs over a 10-year period. But the infrastructure bill isn’t all the investment that our country needs. BAC President Tim Driscoll says that the passage of the infrastructure bill “is a good start, but we have a lot of work left to do. Roads, ports, bridges and airports are all critically important to infrastructure, but they’re not enough because at the end of the day, those roads and bridges and planes must lead somewhere. They’re there to get us to the services and amenities that our communities need to thrive — hospitals, housing, and public spaces that make our cities and towns great places to live. And rebuilding our hospitals, housing, and the like are exactly the priorities that are addressed in the Build Back Better budget package.” The Build Back Better bill also includes critically important investments in universal and free
preschool, childcare, and improved home care for older Americans. Not only will these investments create work opportunities for BAC members, they will help working families across the nation balance their home and work life — help that will spur even more economic growth. And while the exact language of the Build Back Better bill is still being finalized, it appears that it will expand Medicare to cover hearing benefits — which makes a big difference for our retirees — and may include some restoration of our union dues tax deduction, which was taken away by then-President
Trump and the Republican Congress in 2017. Moreover, Build Back Better also includes financial penalties for employers who break our nation’s labor laws when they resort to illegal tactics to fight against unionizing. In short, the Build Back Better bill is just as important to BAC members as the infrastructure bill. Build Back Better is building safer, cleaner, smarter, and healthier. “It means employing union workers who have the skills the training to make sure the job gets done right the first time. It means making sure the materials and components we use to build are
WHAT’S IN THE BILLS?
(IT’S CLEAR WE NEED BOTH) ISSUE 3, 2021 // 23
