Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today after the Energy and Commerce Committee passed its provisions of the Build Back Better Act:
"Today, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed transformational legislation that invests in the American people, responds to the challenges of our time, and builds a better future for generations to come.
“The legislation provides vital resources to expand access to health care for millions of Americans by strengthening the Affordable Care Act, closing the Medicaid coverage gap, expanding Medicare to cover hearing, vision, and dental for seniors, and making long overdue investments in home- and community-based care. It also makes up for decades of chronic underfunding of our nation’s public health infrastructure and helps us prepare to respond to future public health emergencies.
“I’m thrilled by the historic investments we made to fight the climate crisis and create millions of new, good-paying clean energy and manufacturing jobs right here at home. The landmark new Clean Electricity Performance Program provides a groundbreaking $150 billion to help us meet our clean energy goals. It also invests billions in the creation of a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, electric vehicle infrastructure, and home energy efficiency rebates, as well as $30 billion to fully replace lead service pipes contaminating our drinking water.
“The Committee strengthened public safety with funding to implement Next Generation 9-1-1 to make the emergency call service more accessible, effective, and resilient for callers and first responders. We also made critical investments in consumer privacy to provide the Federal Trade Commission with more resources to better protect consumers from privacy and data abuses.
“While I’m disappointed that we were unable to advance price negotiation out of the Committee today, lowering the cost of prescription drugs remains a top priority for Democrats. The most effective way to rein in skyrocketing drug costs is to finally give Medicare the ability to negotiate lower prices, and I’m confident it will be part of the final Build Back Better Act.
“Overall, I’m extremely proud of the Committee’s work to pass this once in a generation bill, and I look forward to continuing to work together to pass the Build Back Better Act and see it signed into law.”
Issues: Environment, Health Care
Original source can be found here.
