FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2021

CONTACT: press@populardemocracy.org

NEW YORK - In response to the U.S. House of Representatives passing the Build Back Better bill, Jennifer Epps Addison of the Center for Popular Democracy, issued the following statement:

“The passage of the Build Back Better bill by the House is a historic achievement. It is a victory for the community organizations who worked tirelessly to elect progressive champions and put Biden in the White House and have kept the pressure on Democratic leaders to push for transformational change. The Build Back Better bill passing the House is the first step towards creating a more resilient and equitable country. It now rests on the Senate to pass the full bill.

“Real, lasting change requires replacing broken systems with something better. It requires investing in and supporting our Black, brown, low-income and immigrant communities with bold, transformational policies. 

“The Build Back Better bill addresses many of the critical, interconnected challenges facing our communities: healthcare, housing, climate change, paid leave, economic justice and immigration. We thank our progressive leaders for demanding a big, bold package for our communities, and we are proud to continue to stand with them.

“But despite the significant victories won in this bill, it still falls short of what our communities desperately need and short of the original promises of the Build Back Better agenda. Corporate interests, unwilling to pay their fair share in taxes and determined to continue gouging working families, successfully lobbied for a narrower bill.

“In particular, the temporary immigration protections in the House bill fall significantly short of what our communities need, expect and deserve. The Senate can and must pass a pathway to citizenship, which begins with green cards. Immigrants have been on the frontlines of pandemic response, and we cannot ‘build back better’ without the protections of permanent residency. Seventy percent of the American public supports creating a pathway to citizenship, and we will not accept any excuses for broken promises. We urge the Senate to pass the full Build Back Better bill with a pathway to citizenship.

“We will continue to fight for safe, secure and affordable housing, expanded healthcare access, a pathway to citizenship and a plan to address climate change that is ambitious enough to match this moment of existential crisis.”

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ABOUT THE CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY

The Center for Popular Democracy is a national network of more than 50 community organizations dedicated to achieving racial and economic justice through local grassroots organizing. CPD trains and supports leadership, staff, and members to grow base-building organizations to scale and leverage that strength to win cutting-edge policy victories at the federal, state and local level.