November 19, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2021 

Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov 

Trone Votes for Landmark Build Back Better Act to Provide Transformational Investments For Maryland’s Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman David Trone voted to deliver a once-in-a-generation investment to working families with the Build Back Better Act. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

The Build Back Better Act not only lowers health care and child care costs, but also marks the largest investment to combat climate change in our nation’s history. Even further, this groundbreaking legislation establishes a universal family and medical leave program and lowers prescription drug costs for hardworking Americans.

The plan will ease inflation by cutting costs for working families, and it is paid for entirely by the wealthy and large corporations — meaning that no one making under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes. You can read more about the plan here. 

“Not only does the Build Back Better agenda help solve the problems Marylanders face today, but it also secures a brighter future for our children and grandchildren,” said Congressman Trone. “We’ve underfunded critical innovation, vital programs, and our country’s future for decades. We need to get back on track to compete in the 21st century. That’s what we’re fighting for. That’s what Build Back Better is all about.”

With the Build Back Better Act, Congress is delivering transformational investments for Marylanders. The $1.75 trillion bill lowers everyday costs for Marylanders by cutting taxes and making child care, home care, education, health care, and housing more affordable. More information on how Marylanders will benefit is below. 

	Problem	Solution
Paid Leave & Child Care	In Maryland, the average annual cost of a child care center for a toddler is $12,284. A Maryland family with two young children would on average spend 21% of their income on child care for one year. Only 21% of American workers have access to employer-provided paid family leave and just 42% of American workers have access to paid medical leave through an employer-provided plan.	Child care will be accessible for 370,000 Maryland children (ages 0-5) per year for families earning under 2.5 times the state median income (about $300,108 for a family of 4). It ensures that these families pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care. Establishes a universal and permanent family and medical leave program by providing four weeks of paid parental, family caregiving, and medical leave.
Preschool	Preschool costs about $8,600 per year for those who can’t access a publicly-funded program. Just 5% of the three- and four-year-olds in Maryland have access to publicly-funded preschool.	Maryland can now expand access to free preschool to more than 138,156 additional three- and four-year-olds per year.
Climate Change	From 2010-2020, Maryland experienced 31 extreme weather events, costing up to $10 billion in damages. These extreme weather events were due largely in part to climate change.	The United States will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030. The bill will also create a new Civilian Climate Corps that will provide good-paying jobs to thousands of Marylanders.
Affordable Higher Education	The average cost of a two-year degree in Maryland is $4,826 per year. The average cost for a four-year degree in Maryland is $10,245 per year, making college inaccessible for many students.	The maximum Pell Grant awards will increase by $550 for students at public and private colleges, supporting the 84,712 students in Maryland who rely on Pell.
Job Training Programs	The United States is second to last in investing in workforce development. Funding for federal job training programs has dropped by almost half since 2001.	16 public community colleges in Maryland will be able to benefit from grants to develop job training programs and expand on current ones.
Preventing Child Hunger	11% of children in Maryland live in food-insecure households.	Expands access to free school meals to an additional 55,000 students during the school year Provides 430,954 students with resources to buy food over the summer.
Affordable Housing	353,000 renters in Maryland spend more than 30% of their income on rent.	Expands rental assistance for Maryland renters. Constructs and rebuilds over one million affordable housing units nationwide.
Health Care & Drug Prices	Right now, there are 257,100 uninsured Marylanders. Drug prices often outpace inflation, leading to dire affordability issues for patients in need of life-saving medication.	In Maryland, 34,000 uninsured people will gain coverage, and 53,300 will, on average, save hundreds of dollars per year.HHS will be empowered to negotiate prices of a select amount of high-cost drugs.
Long Term Care	21,000 people in Maryland are on a waiting list for a Medicaid waiver to help with home-based health care affordability.	Expand access to home and community-based care to more of Maryland’s senior and disabled citizens. Raise wages for caregivers.
Cutting Taxes for the Middle Class	Before the pandemic, 11% of children under the age of 18 in Maryland lived in poverty.	Extend the Child Tax Credit (CTC) increases of $300/month per child under six or $250/month per child ages six to 17. Extend the American Rescue Plan’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansion to provide a tax cut of up to $1,500 for 263,000 low-wage workers in Maryland.

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.

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