How Biden's Plan Would Transform Oregon

The Build Back Better framework, if passed, would change Oregon in several big ways.

Building Oregon Back Better

Last week, President Biden rolled out his “Build Back Better” framework, a plan that complements the hard infrastructure bill currently before the U.S. House.  The Biden framework weighs in at $1.75 trillion, fully offset by new revenue.  The bill would make record new Oregon investments in clean energy, families with children, healthcare, and housing. 

Climate

If passed, Oregon’s energy profile and vehicular traffic could look at lot different (and greener).  The proposal invests $320 billion in clean energy and electric vehicle tax breaks, up to $12,500 per vehicle, in addition to up to $7,500 in Oregon-specific incentives.  For example, solar installations in our state would receive a 30% cost cut, helping plug a gap created by the sunset of our state solar incentives.  These investments would extend a pre-existing pattern. Even unsubsidized utility-scale solar and wind are now more cost-effective than coal and nuclear generation and generally on par with natural gas. 

While the slimmed down bill doesn’t achieve the 80%+ carbon reductions of the original Democratic proposal, it does result in a 50-52% reduction in emissions by 2030, per our commitment under the Paris Agreement.  As trends continue to reduce the cost of renewables and improve their stability and to increase the cost of fossil carbon-based fuels, the bill sets the stage for later steps to further reduce carbon emissions.  The bill would lay down a firm foundation for future efforts and will help Oregon achieve our goal of 100% clean energy by 2040.

Programs to Support Children

The framework proposes spending $600 billion to benefit children.  This includes a one-year extension of the child tax credit ($200 billion) and universal pre-K with childcare subsidies ($400 billion).  The child tax credit extension makes its full refundability permanent, a huge advantage for low-income families.  In Oregon, the framework provides access to child care for 229,875 young children (ages 0-5) per year in a typical family of four earning up to $223,000 per year and limits these costs to 7% of income.  

Oregon would also be able to expand access to free, high-quality preschool to more than 77,522 additional 3- and 4-year-olds per year.  We would also have the ability to expand access to free school meals to an additional 83,000 students during the school year, providing 286,821 students with summer meal support.  

Finally, more than 255,000 low-wage working families would also see a tax cut of up to $1,500 through the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). While all of these programs have sunset clauses, history suggests that Congress would continue them once they are established.  Once Congress starts investing in families, they rarely stop.

Housing and Healthcare

The Build Back Better framework provides $465 billion to shore up healthcare and stabilize housing.  $165 billion in healthcare funds would support an extension of the enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, making them free for most low-income families more affordable for the middle class.  Medicare would gain a hearing benefit and Medicaid would receive better funding for long-term care, for a total of $150 billion.  In Oregon, these initiatives mean 64,000 uninsured people would gain coverage and 58,900 would save hundreds of dollars per year. 

The housing supports include rental and down payment assistance ($150 billion).  The extension of rental assistance would particularly help Oregonians, as it provides a critical financial underpinning for a program that has always been starved for funds.

Left Out

The framework leaves out some important priorities: paid family leave, free community college, Medicare vision and dental benefits, negotiation of drug prices in Medicare, and an increase in corporate tax rates.  While the lack of a federal paid family leave mandate will undoubtedly disappoint many, Oregon’s paid family leave program will come online in 2023, providing 12-14 weeks of benefits.  And, although the Build Back Better framework doesn’t offer free community college, it would increase maximum Pell Grant awards by $550 for students at public and private non-profit institutions, supporting the 57,577 students in Oregon who rely on Pell.  The increased funding in rental assistance would help stabilize and speed our current slow, underfunded system.  

Still, this framework reflects the art of the possible and a big part of its potential political success comes from how it’s funded.  The framework relies on a corporate minimum tax on large corporations, a tax on stock buybacks, and a new surtax on millionaires and billionaires to balance the budget.  This package results in zero increase in the federal deficit. 

Are we there yet?

The Build Back Better framework has not yet passed either chamber.  However, key stakeholders have made positive statements about it.  The House Progressive Caucus has also indicated support in concept, to the extent that they will continue to hold onto the ‘hard’ infrastructure bill until the Build Back Better framework passes the Senate.  While there is no firm deadline for the bill, the current federal continuing resolution expires on December 3, meaning that time is of the essence.  While the framework will disappoint some, several of the items left out will probably pass separately as stand-alone bills.  All in all, the Build Back Better framework is one that will benefit Oregon.

Rep. Marty Wilde represents House District 11.

Photo credit: "SW Portland construction" by pdx.rollingthunder is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0