Time to Rebuild America's Infrastructure

Dear SMART Local 66 Members,

Last week, the House released an updated draft of the reconciliation bill—the Build Back Better Act. The bill was significantly scaled back from $3.5 to $1.75 trillion. While some of our priorities were eliminated such as funding for school construction, this legislation is still an important step toward making historic investments in working people and creating good union jobs. This legislation paired with the $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill, will help revitalize our economy and support working families. Our message to Congress is the same: pass both bills as quickly as possible with our priorities.

Congress passed an extension on highway programs until December 3^rd. This is the same deadline that has been set to address government funding and the debt limit. There is a possibility that Congress will hold a vote this week. We must continue to work together to urge Congress to pass both bills—the bipartisan bill and the reconciliation bill—as quickly as possible. Please reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to pass both bills right away.

Attached is a detailed breakdown of the updated reconciliation bill.

In summary, the bill includes:

$320 billion in clean energy tax credits, including work to retrofit buildings. Labor standards, including prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship utilization, are applied as a bonus tax credit.
PRO Act provisions: Imposes new civil monetary penalties for existing Unfair Labor Practices; $50,000-$100,000 per violation. In addition, fines can be placed against individual corporation officers.
$37 million to address IAQ in schools.
$40 billion for higher education and workforce development: which includes registered apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and youth apprenticeship programs.
Universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds.
Affordable high-quality child care.
$150 billion for affordable housing: which will fund the construction of 1 million new affordable rental and single-family homes.
Child tax credit extension for one year.