Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

A Message from the Office of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez

To our NY-14 community,

This week, President Biden will sign into law a bill to invest in physical infrastructure in our country. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voted against this bill on Friday. Why? By advancing the infrastructure bill without its companion legislation — the Build Back Better Act — we fear Congress may have jeopardized immigration reform, funding for NYCHA and any chance to meaningfully address climate change.

How did we get here? In the Spring, President Biden presented his domestic agenda. After negotiations with Republicans, his agenda was largely split into two bills: the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act (BBB). Democratic leaders in Congress, along with the Progressive Caucus, decided that in order to ensure passage of both bills, the two bills should be voted on at the same time.

Why did the infrastructure bill and BBB need to pass together? Conservative Democrats really supported the infrastructure bill, but do not support some of what’s in BBB - including paid leave, lowered prescription drug costs, and many climate change provisions. Conversely, progressives felt strongly that the infrastructure bill didn't do enough and that we needed to pass BBB so we could deliver the President's entire agenda and fulfill long-held promises around affordable housing, climate change, childcare and healthcare.

So, essentially, the deal for all of this Summer and Fall was that progressive Democrats would vote for an infrastructure bill, if conservative Democrats would vote for BBB. But this past Friday, the White House and House leadership changed their strategy. Negotiations around these two bills had been ongoing for months, and leadership decided they wanted the infrastructure bill to pass on its own so Democrats could claim some sort of victory after tough election results in Virginia and elsewhere.

But the calculus for our community did not change. We could not risk that immigration reform, funding for NYCHA, climate change provisions and so many other important priorities would not be passed. So the Congresswoman stuck to her word and voted against the infrastructure bill, in order to try to keep these two bills tied together. She was always prepared to vote for the infrastructure bill alongside BBB, but she could not support the infrastructure bill on its own and risk losing our only leverage for policies in the BBB that NY-14 so badly needs.

The President and House leadership has promised that BBB will still pass. We hope they’re right, but how much of the bill survives now that we’ve given away so much leverage is the question.

We’ve included more on what’s in the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Agenda below (along with some other announcements). Also, we want to encourage you to reach out to your office to share your opinion on any legislation pending before Congress. The Congresswoman takes her constituents’ feedback very seriously when deciding how to vote. You can contact us at 718-662-5970 or by email.

Announcements

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is hiring interns for the Spring 2022 session in our Jackson Heights district office. Interns will work with staff to serve the constituents of New York’s 14th Congressional district. Interns are compensated at a rate of $15/hour. Interested applicants should apply by November 15th. Spanish language skills are highly preferred. More here.

Deadline to apply for FEMA assistance for Hurricane Ida victims is December 6. More information available here.

Deadline to purchase your health coverage for next year is December 15 if you buy through the New York State exchange. Thanks to legislation passed by Congress this Spring, premiums will decrease by $50 per person per month or by $85 per policy per month. Four out of five enrollees will be able to find a plan for $10 or less/month after premium tax credits, and over 50% will be able to find a Silver plan for $10 or less. Sign up here. Here are also some tips to help you pick the right plan.

Our next virtual town hall is Thursday, November 18. Register here.

What's in the Infrastructure Bill?

This week, President Biden signed into law a bill addressing the nation’s physical infrastructure. Here’s an overview of the good and the bad.

The good…

Single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system itself
Largest investment in public transit and passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak
Reinstate superfund fees for chemicals
Infrastructure investments projected to create an average of 1.5 million jobs each year over the course of the decade
$65 billion to improve access to high-speed internet
The legislation creates a first-ever program to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure. Funding for this program was dramatically cut during negotiations with Republicans but it will still be the first time such a program exists
$21 billion to plug orphan oil and gas wells, clean up abandoned mines, and remediate Brownfield and Superfund sites

The bad…

There’s no funding for housing or school buildings.
There is also more money for roads than public transit and rail combined.
There is little funding to fight climate change, and the deal actually increases our fossil fuel reliance in some ways by using a strategic petroleum reserve sale to help pay for it.
To pay for the deal, the President also agreed to privatize some infrastructure and to redirect pandemic unemployment benefits away from our hardest hit neighbors.
We also know this investment is just too small over all. The American Society of Civil Engineers says we need to spend at least $2.6 trillion/ 10 years to meet our country’s infrastructure needs. This bill is just under $600 billion. We know we need $45B to replace lead pipes that can contaminate drinking water. This bill only allocates $15B.

What's Currently in the Build Back Better Agenda?

As currently written, here’s an overview of some of the exciting provisions in the Build Back Better Act. We expect this to be further negotiated before passage, which the White House currently says they’re hoping to pass before the end of November. We’ll keep you updated as negotiations progress. Currently, the Build Back Better Agenda:

Makes the largest investment to combat the Climate crisis in history - $555B.
Caps insulin at $35 for a month’s supply.
Allows Medicare to negotiate down prices on some of the highest-cost drugs
Expands Medicare to cover hearing care.
Saves most families more than half their current spending on child care - the vast majority of families will have to pay no more than 7% of their income for child care.
Includes paid leave. Starting in January 2024, all workers would be eligible for up to four weeks of paid leave for new parents, workers dealing with their own serious medical conditions and workers who need leave to care for a loved one with a serious medical issue.
Extends the advanced Child Tax Credit another year. And the CTC will now be permanently refundable on your taxes.
Makes a $150 billion investment toward our nation’s affordable housing infrastructure.
Improves Green card processing and by recapturing unused green cards from past years, frees up approximately 222,000 unused family-sponsored visas; and approximately 157,000 employment-based visas. Currently, the bill does not include a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, TPS holders, farmworkers, and essential workers. It’s deeply disappointing and we will continue to advocate for it prior to passage.