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On-the-ground In Georgia: Build Back Better Agenda Would Create Jobs, Lower Costs For Georgia Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2021
PRESS CONTACT: [email protected]

ON-THE-GROUND IN GEORGIA: BUILD BACK BETTER AGENDA WOULD CREATE JOBS, LOWER COSTS FOR GEORGIA FAMILIES

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Together, the Build Back Better Agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will deliver critical investments Georgia families need to build our economy and our communities back better than ever. The President’s full legislative agenda will invest in our nation’s future by lowering costs of essentials such as child care and prescription drugs for working families, fixing our nation’s broken infrastructure, tackling the climate crisis, cutting taxes for 50 million working and middle class families nationwide, and creating millions of good-paying jobs.

Georgians are united in the need to get the Build Back Better Agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal across the finish line:

“Millions of Georgians will benefit from the historic investments in the Build Back Better Agenda, including to make critical improvements to our care economy,” said Leng Leng Chancey, Executive Director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women. “Too many across our state struggle to work and care for themselves and their family, especially marginalized communities. Georgians are counting on this legislation to deliver much-needed progress on everything from paid family and medical leave to providing more direct support to working and middle class families in our state.”

“The investments made by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the Build Back Better Agenda are critical for securing a better future for working people in Georgia,” said Steve Lomax, President of UFCW Local 1996. “From creating good-paying jobs to bringing down the costs of everyday essentials, these bills are an unequivocal win for working people. Congress must act to enact this historic legislation and ensure we build back better for Georgians and Americans across the country.”

“The Build Back Better Act will aid in fueling a just transition to clean energy and a regenerative economy in Georgia, a much needed growth area for a state that is so heavily dependent on fossil fuels,” said Jillian Eller, Sierra Club Georgia. “It’s our time to act now for our future and forthcoming generations by making big, bold investments in climate, energy, jobs, and justice. By prioritizing the needs of historically disenfranchised, BIPOC communities, and those most burdened by climate change, we can begin to address systemic injustice through federal leadership of the Build Back Better Act.”

“We know how hard the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to take on the pandemic and build an economic recovery that has reached all Georgians, including communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said Jason Esteves, Board Chair of the Atlanta Public School Board of Education. “Now, through the Build Back Better Agenda, we have a crucial opportunity to build on this progress, and pass legislation that will truly reduce inequality, increase opportunity, and build a better future that puts working and middle class families first.”

Key highlights of how the Build Back Better Agenda would boost working and middle class families in Georgia:

  • Ease the burden on the middle class by lowering the costs of everyday essentials:
    • Save the average Georgia family with two children $4,200 a year on child care.
    • Cut prescription drug costs for Georgians by up to 55 percent for some drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies.
  • Create millions of good-paying jobs nationwide, including:
    • Create more than 100,000 clean energy jobs in Georgia
    • Create 10,960 home care jobs in Georgia.
  • Build an economy that rewards work, not wealth:
    • Extend the increased Earned Income Tax Credit for 569,000 low-wage workers in Georgia.
  • Tackle the climate crisis while bringing down utility costs for Georgians:
    • Invest $6.4 billion in energy efficiency in Georgia.
    • Save the average Georgia family $500 a year on their energy bills by 2030.
  • Make historic investments in Georgia’s infrastructure:
    • Deliver $8.9 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $225 million for bridge replacement and repairs to address the over 2,260 miles of highway and 370 bridges in poor condition in Georgia.
    • Improve healthy, sustainable transportation options, including by investing $1.4 million in public transit and $135 million to expand Georgia’s network of EV charging stations. 
    • Bring high-speed internet access to the at least 649,000 Georgians who lack access to broadband.
    • Invest $913 million in Georgia to eliminate lead pipes and provide clean drinking water to Georgians who lack it.
  • Ensure families with children can make ends meet:
    • Provide a tax cut to the families of 2,269,000 Georgia kids who benefit from the expanded Child Tax Credit.
    • Establish paid family leave for Georgia families.
  • Expand access to quality, affordable health care:
    • Expand Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing coverage for the 1 million Georgia seniorscurrently enrolled in Medicare.
    • Expand Medicaid and provide health insurance coverage to 445,000 Georgians who were not previously eligible for coverage.
  • Provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrant families, including:
    • For 375,000 undocumented immigrants living in Georgia.

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