As Republicans fought to delay the final vote, House Democrats passed a social and climate spending package. The “Build Back Better Act,” passed Friday morning, is a $1.7 trillion deal not supported by a single Republican. A lone Democrat, Rep. Jason Golden of Maine, was the only dissenter on his side of the aisle. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the vote Friday morning. 

According to MSN, “The social spending bill would generate the largest expansion to the social safety net in 50 years and contains $555 billion for climate and clean energy investments. It would reduce the cost of some prescription drugs, extend the child tax credit, expand universal preschool and includes electric-vehicle tax credits, paid leave, housing assistance and dozens more progressive priorities.”

Projections indicate the bill would add $160 billion to the federal deficit in the next decade. 

The bill is far from becoming law, but Democrats are celebrating the victory anyway. They began chanting “Build back better!” and applauding on the House floor as the necessary votes were cast. They also heckled Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy during his 8-hour speech against the bill. 

Next up, the bill will move to the Senate for tweaking; the process will likely not begin until after the Thanksgiving holiday next week. 

Two key Democrat senators – Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia – have not announced how they plan to vote. Both senators are wildcards who often veer away from the Democrat majority.

Just after the bill passed, President Donald Trump issued a statement condemning the “Communistic style Bill” bill, saying “They are destroying our Country!”

Two notable disasters included in the Build Back Better bill deal with protections for illegal aliens and the federalization of child care. In an effort to bring government control into every area of our lives, the House wants to standardize the messaging given to very small children. Federalizing childcare will likely cause faith-based childcare centers out of business.

Also, undocumented workers and immigration advocates pushed for Democrats to keep work permits and protections from deportations in the final version of bill. According to the Florida Phoenix: “Democrats have tried to include broader immigration provisions in the sweeping social safety net package, but their attempts to include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people so far have been rejected by the Senate parliamentarian.”

Time will tell on the other elements the Democrats have stuffed into this bill.

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Rebecca Horvath

Rebecca Horvath is an editor and writer for NRN and a contributor to NRN+ Magazine. She lives in the highlands of Tennessee with her husband and three children. Horvath is a politics junkie, Sunday School teacher, and a proud graduate of Wingate University (NC).

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