Pride at Work Applauds House Passage of Build Back Better Act

For Immediate Release: November 19, 2021
Contact: Jerame Davis – jdavis@prideatwork.org

Pride at Work Applauds House Passage of Build Back Better Act
Washington, DC – This morning, The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, a landmark bill that provides a once in a generation investment into America’s working people. Though we continue to fight for the inclusion of key provisions that are missing as the bill heads to the Senate for consideration, Pride at Work supports this legislation.
The Build Back Better Act grew from the framework set forth by President Biden and provides a host of provisions that will make the lives of LGBTQ working people better.
The Build Back Better Act would:
  • Provide working families with children a lifeline by ensuring families that earn less than $300,000 per year will pay no more than 7% of their income on child care. It also expands access to preschool for three and four year olds. LGBTQ families with children are significantly more likely to live in poverty and childcare costs can be prohibitive;
  • Create the biggest expansion of affordable healthcare in a decade by closing the Medicaid coverage gap and lowering the costs of healthcare purchased through the ACA. It also adds hearing coverage support for people on Medicare. LGBTQ Americans face significant barriers to access to healthcare;
  • Promote nutrition security to support children’s health by expanding access to free meals for schoolchildren and providing families with the means to purchase food over the summer. LGBTQ families with children experience food insecurity at nearly twice the rate of non-LGBTQ families;
  • Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit, which benefits low-wage workers. LGBTQ working people are significantly more likely to work in a low-wage job than non-LGBTQ workers;
  • Create community violence intervention programs that are evidence-based that provide support for victims. LGBTQ people are 6 times more likely than non-LGBTQ people to experience violence by someone who is well known to them and more than twice as likely to be subject to violent crime by a stranger;
  • Invest in the largest effort to combat climate change in American history by creating good union jobs that are part of the climate solution.
Pride at Work Executive Director, Jerame Davis, reacted to the news:
“Build Back Better is a huge step forward for all working people and will have some major benefits for LGBTQ workers. The childcare provisions, the nutrition assistance, and the expansion of healthcare are a lifeline to LGBTQ families and the increased Earned Income Tax Credit could reduce the poverty gap for LGBTQ working people.
“We urge the U.S. Senate to take up the Build Back Better Act for swift passage.”
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Pride At Work is the largest national organization that builds power for LGBTQIA+ working people. We organize mutual support between the organized Labor Movement and the LGBTQIA+ Community for social and economic justice. We seek full equality for LGBTQIA+ working people in our workplaces, our unions, and the public square. We organize in the spirit of the union movement’s historic motto, “An Injury to One is An Injury to All.” Learn more at www.prideatwork.org.