ASPIRE PAC Chair Grace Meng Statement on Build Back Better Act

The legislation provides billions of dollars worth of investments in AAPI families

WASHINGTON, DC – ASPIRE PAC Chair Grace Meng released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, legislation that would make historic investments in American families, especially the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

“For far too long, the AAPI community has been ignored, but Democrats are fighting to change that. The Build Back Better Act is a transformative piece of legislation for working families across the country, especially for the AAPI community,” said Congresswoman Meng, Chair of ASPIRE PAC. “From elder care, to child care, universal pre-K, and tax cuts, the Build Back Better Act will uplift AAPI families. It reduces the cost of home-based care for hundreds of thousands of older adults, ensuring AAPI families can afford to take care of their elders. It reduces the cost of child care and offers access to free preschool for all 3- and 4-year old children. And it extends the Child Tax Credit, providing the families of over 2.8 million AAPI children a major tax cut. Democrats understand that AAPI voters delivered us a mandate with their historic participation in the 2020 election, and the Build Back Better Act represents a historic investment in them.”

The Build Back Better Act does the following:

• Affordable, High-Quality Care for Hundreds of Thousands of Older Americans and People with Disabilities in Their Homes and Communities: Strengthening an existing program through Medicaid and ending the existing backlog and improving working conditions for home care workers

• Affordable High-Quality Child Care: Limit child care costs for families to no more than 7% of income, for families earning up to 250% of state median income. It enables states to expand access to about 20 million children. Parents must be working, seeking work, in training or taking care of a serious health issue. This is a long-term program, with funding for six years.

• Universal Preschool for all 3- and 4-year Olds: Expand access to free high-quality preschool for more than 6 million children. This is a long-term program, with funding for six years.

• Expanded Child Tax Credit: Extend for one year the current expanded Child Tax Credit for more than 35 million American households, with monthly payments for households earning up to $150,000 per year. Make refundability of the Child Tax Credit permanent.

ASPIRE PAC is the political arm of Asian American and Pacific Islander Members of Congress. ASPIRE PAC was established to work for fair representation in the U.S. Congress by supporting and increasing the number of AAPI policymakers and federal candidates with large AAPI constituencies. It offers a voice for the AAPI community and encourages active participation in the U.S. political process. ASPIRE PAC is chaired by Congresswoman Grace Meng.

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