Richmond, VA - Our country is facing multiple, severe crises.  The COVID-19 Delta variant is running rampant in our communities, the economic recovery from the pandemic isn’t reaching everyone while people try to find reliable, safe childcare and jobs that allow hardworking people to both work safely and be compensated fairly. Our democracy is hanging on by the smallest of threads, our climate is not only changing but is heading towards more natural disasters, immigrants can’t get ahead no matter how hard they work, and hardworking families struggle to make ends meet.

However, there is some hope. Congress has made substantial progress in crafting legislation that offers real solutions and can put us on a path to a thriving future. Among the provisions of the Build Back Better Plan that are currently under negotiation include: providing health care to Americans who need it, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and adding hearing, dental, and vision coverage to Medicare, including care policies like paid family and medical leave and investments in childcare and services for seniors and adults with disabilities, putting the country on a path to 100 percent clean energy, building a million new units of affordable housing, and providing a pathway to citizenship for millions of people. These measures would help support families all across the country in real ways.

These proposals have wide support among the American people and would be paid for by reforming the tax code so that the highest income earners and richest corporations pay their fair share. Middle-class and working Americans are already paying enough. When we invest in the foundations of our communities, we all thrive. 

This plan makes transformational investments in our future, while also reforming our tax code by leveling the playing field for working families and small businesses. It’s time for Congress to pass the Build Back Better plan, including the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, and remind Americans that it is capable of responding to the challenges of our time.

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New Virginia Majority builds power in working-class communities of color, in immigrant communities, among LGBTQ people, women, youth, and progressives across the Commonwealth. We organize for racial and economic justice through large-scale political education, mobilization and advocacy around dozens of issues. We fight for a Virginia that is just, democratic and environmentally sustainable. For more information, visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook at @NewVAMajority.