Representative Adriano Espaillat Hails Historic Investments In New York City Families and Infrastructure

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) released the following statement following House passage of both the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:

“Today is a historic one – for every working family in my district, in New York City, and around the country. For far too long, New York families have been held back by soaring costs – from child care to health care to education to the climate crisis and more. That’s why I voted to pass the Build Back Better Act today, and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earlier this month – to unleash the full potential of every worker and family in our state and get our city on the road to building back better,” said Rep. Espaillat.

“These bills together rebalance our economy, help working families and communities of color succeed, ensure the wealthiest few and corporations pay their fair share, and revitalize our nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure. We’re delivering for New York families, with millions of good-paying jobs, historic middle class tax cuts and lower costs, so parents can thrive and succeed,” Espaillat concluded.

The Build Back Better Act

Led by President Biden and Democrats in Congress, the Build Back Better Act will be transformative for nearly every New York family: delivering historic investments that meet their needs in the wake of the pandemic and will ensure that all can share in the benefits of a growing economy now, and for generations to come:

• Housing: The Build Back Better Act will enable the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of more than 1 million affordable homes, boosting housing supply and reducing price pressures for renters and homeowners. It addresses the capital needs of the public housing stock in big cities and rural communities across America and ensure it is not only safe and habitable but healthier and more energy efficient as well. It makes a historic investment in rental assistance, expanding vouchers to hundreds of thousands of additional families.
• Immigration: The bill also improves and reforms our broken immigration system, investing $100 billion to reduce backlogs, expand legal representation, and make our asylum system and border processing more efficient and humane.
• Child care: the average annual cost for child care in New York is $12,361. The Build Back Better Act expands access for 1,079,596 young New Yorkers and ensure that no New York family pays more than seven percent of their income on child care.
• Early education: only 24% percent of 3- and 4-year-olds in New York have access to publicly funded pre-K, while the average cost of private pre-K in the state is $8,600. The Build Back Better Act expands access to free, high-quality pre-K to 329,176 young New Yorkers – setting these children up for lifelong success and saving their parents thousands of dollars.
• Health care: by closing the Medicaid gap, expanding Medicare to include hearing care and extending relief for insurance purchased through the ACA, the Build Back Better Act will help 163,000 New Yorkers gain coverage and 192,200 New York families save hundreds on health costs each year – while also making home health care for elderly parents or loved ones with disabilities more affordable and accessible.
• Lower taxes: before Democrats secured the expanded Biden Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan, 16 percent of New York children lived in poverty. The Build Back Better Act extends this life-changing tax cut and continues our historic progress toward reducing child poverty.
• Climate impacts: New York has experienced 31 extreme weather events over the last decade, which has cost New York families more than $100 billion. By reducing carbon pollution, bolstering community resilience and strengthening the American clean energy economy, the Build Back Better Act will create good-paying union jobs, advance environmental justice and save New York families the steep costs of recovery.
• The Build Back Better Act also makes generational investments in higher education, workforce training, affordable housing, nutrition assistance and more.

The full fact sheet from Rep. Espaillat and President Biden is available here

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Actserves as down-payment to revitalize New York City’s crumbling infrastructure. By injecting millions into additional transportation projects, including $8 billion dollars for the Capital Investment Grants program to fund the Second Avenue Subway, several of Rep Espaillat’s bills will undoubtedly make transit routes safer and more accessible for all New Yorkers.

Espaillat’s bills that have been included are: H.R. 463, The Transportation Alternatives Enhancements Act, H.R.508, The SAFE Streets Act, and H.R.1289, The Complete Streets Act.

H.R. 463, The Transportation Alternatives Enhancements Act revises the surface transportation block grant program (Transportation Alternatives Program) of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The bill requires DOT to set aside 10% of apportioned funds under the program each fiscal year for states, and allows states to allocate funds to counties, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), regional transportation planning organizations, and local governments. Funds may be used for certain projects or activities, including the construction, planning, and design of infrastructure-related projects and systems that will provide safe routes for nondrivers, such as children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities, to access daily needs. MPOs that serve an urbanized area with a population of 200,000 or fewer are eligible for funding under the program. The bill also adjusts funding limits for states to improve the ability of applicants to access funding in an efficient and expeditious manner.

H.R.508, The SAFE Streets Act revises the Highway Safety Improvement Program to create special rules for vulnerable road users. The bill defines vulnerable road user as a nonmotorist such as a pedestrian, pedalcylcist, bicyclist, other cyclist, or person on personal conveyance. Specifically, the bill requires

• states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) with above the median rate of vulnerable road user fatalities and serious injuries to dedicate at least 75% of funds under the program for projects to improve safety for such users, and
• states and MPOs to create vulnerable road user safety assessments that include locations and corridors where serious injuries and fatalities occur and strategies to reduce safety risks for such users in the corridors.

H.R.1289, The Complete Streets Act directs each state to establish a competitive program to provide technical assistance and grants for the design and construction of complete streets to make transit routes safer and more accessible. Specifically, the bill directs

• the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish benchmarks and guidance by which states can implement complete streets programs and eligible entities can carry out complete streets policies and principles;
• eligible entities seeking technical assistance or funds for a complete streets program to adopt policies using complete streets principles that are approved by the state or metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) with jurisdiction over such entities;
• states and MPOs to certify that their complete street policies meet the minimum requirements set out by DOT;
• states to set aside 5% of their federal highway money to implement a complete streets program; and
• states and MPOs to adopt design standards for federal surface transportation projects that provide for the safe and adequate accommodation of all users of the surface transportation network, including motorized and non-motorized users, in all phases of project planning, development, and operation.

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