On November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives closely passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) by a vote of 220-213.  All Republicans and one lone Democrat voted against the brutal $1.7 trillion bill, which is filled with massive waste and politically favored provisions like giving an extra $4,500 tax break for buying electric cars made in union shops.

A vote for this bill was a vote against the American people.  It is riddled with big-government solutions to government-created problems and may be a tipping point in moving the United States to becoming a socialist country.  The impact this legislation will have on healthcare in particular is unconscionable.

The legislation spends $550 billion on climate change, or 31 percent of the total cost and 170 times more than Democrats allocated to prepare the country for the next pandemic.  According to a report by Republican members of the House Budget Committee, the legislation includes $450 million for job training in “climate change” careers, more than $150 million for “species protection,” and $25 million for President Biden to establish an “environmental justice initiative.”  The bill also raises the cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions, which overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy in deep blue states like New York and California and helped to buy votes from “moderate” Democrats.

House Republicans have continually spoken out against the BBBA, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Kathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said, “Today, President Biden and House Democrats passed legislation that will fundamentally transform the United States of America – and not for the better.  This multi-trillion-dollar tax and spending spree is an unprecedented lurch towards more government control in our lives that will saddle our children with a debt they can never payback.”

House Budget Committee Ranking Member Jason Smith (R-Ark.) said the legislation is part of the Democrats’ “partisan tax and spending agenda that bankrupts our economy, benefits the wealthy, and builds the Washington bureaucracy.”  He added, “No matter how you slice it, this bill is not paid for, and the Congressional Budget Office has shown it will add $800 billion to the debt in just the first five years.”

After months of negotiations, House Democrats kept language that authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices for Part B and D drugs, which means the government will control the prices.  The consequences of implementing price controls on medications will result in higher costs, fewer future cures, and less accessibility for patients. Citizens Against Government Waste released an issue brief today, “Price Controls on Pharmaceuticals Are Bad Medicine,” describing in detail how the BBBA will destroy the vibrant pharmaceutical industry.

The bill includes a band-aid solution to the Medicaid coverage gap by expanding the Affordable Care Act to nearly 2.2 million Americans living in states that have not yet opted into Medicaid expansion.  This is one giant step closer to government-run healthcare.  And it is only a three-year fix, which means the burden to continue its funding will fall on state budgets after its expiration in 2025, unless Congress acts to reform the failing Medicaid program and deregulate the marketplace to lower costs.

This bill is full of waste and nothing more than a power grab by Democrats in Congress to expand the size, scope, power, and control of the federal government that is unmatched in recent years, perhaps in U.S. history. Legislators are willing to push the country further into debt with reckless spending while the American people suffer under massive inflation in the Biden economy.  The Senate will begin negotiations on the BBBA after Thanksgiving.

Hopefully, after members of Congress return home from the holiday, they will be reminded of who they represent and the generations they burden with debt every time they vote.  The vote today is a reminder for all that the Swamp in Washington, D.C., is alive and well and does not prioritize the interests of the American people.