Build Back Better Plan
Generally viewed as ambitious in size and scope, it sought the largest nationwide public investment in social, infrastructural, and environmental programs since the 1930s Great Depression-era policies of the New Deal.
[5] The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives but struggled to gain the support of Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona in the evenly divided Senate, with unified Republican opposition.
[10] Clinton also released a special report in December 2006 entitled "Lessons Learned from Tsunami Recovery:Key Propositions for Building Back Better".
[27] The COVID-19 pandemic caused substantial job losses in the U.S., with a May 2020 estimate finding that it had resulted in the greatest unemployment crisis since the Great Depression.
[28] During his presidency, Donald Trump floated using low interest rates to spend on infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and tunnels, but specifically excluding the initiatives of the Green New Deal supported by some of the members in the Democratic Party.
It was signed into law on March 11 using the procedure of reconciliation, allowing it to go into effect with unanimous Democratic support in the Senate and no Republican votes.
[34] In March 2024, the Washington Post published an article called, "Biden’s $7.5 billion investment in EV charging has only produced 7 stations in two years.
"[39] The plan called for $100 billion in funding for American energy infrastructure, aiming to transition the country to 100% carbon-free electricity production by 2035.
The plan aimed to raise over $2 trillion by 2036,[38] with other methods including ending subsidies for fossil fuel companies, increasing the global minimum tax from roughly 13% to 21%, and deficit spending.
[59] The program also received support from organized labor, with AFL–CIO president Richard Trumka praising the plan for its inclusion of the PRO Act.
[61] Political conservatives dismissed the original legislation as costly and challenged the inclusion of policy areas not traditionally considered "infrastructure".
[63] Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy called the plan "[m]ajor expansions of government agencies and even more inflation that will lead to higher costs for all Americans.
The third part of the original Build Back Better agenda, the American Families Plan, set aside $1 trillion in new spending and $800 billion in tax credits (both over ten years).
[69][70] It would also revoke a federal restriction on people with felony drug convictions from obtaining food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
[74] A $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that included measures related to climate change, family aid, and expansions to Medicare was rolled out, but failed to win the support of Republicans or Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
[6] In July 2022, revived negotiations between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer yielded a deal on a slimmed-down and reworked version of the original bill, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The bill's main goals include reducing current and future inflation, reforming corporate taxing, lowering prescription drug prices for consumers, extending health insurance subsidies through the Affordable Care Act, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions while boosting domestic energy production.
