M/ Speaker, I rise today in support of the joint budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2021.
The COVID-19 crisis is far from over. Record numbers of deaths and joblessness continue to plague our nation, with women and people of color disproportionately bearing the brunt of the hardship.
Fortunately, our nation has a new leader in the White House, who recognizes the severity of this emergency. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan contains the kind of bold policies congressional Democrats have sought to advance for months.
We understand that our economy will not truly recover without first crushing the virus and restoring safe working conditions.
Ending the public health emergency requires aggressive, science-based action, and it takes time. In addition to passing measures to eradicate the pandemic, we must also ensure families and jobless workers are able to afford life’s basic necessities until the economy is back on track.
Accomplishing these goals requires we go big. Economists and experts agree that not doing enough to address the crisis is far riskier than doing too much.
The Ways and Means Committee is ready to meet this challenge and beat the virus while putting money in people’s pockets, extending unemployment assistance, combatting child poverty, and supporting hard-hit families.
Passage of this budget resolution will provide us with an additional pathway to swiftly advance these priorities. In times as desperate as these, we must prepare any mechanism at our disposal that will get the American people the relief they need as quickly as possible.
For the millions of lives and livelihoods at stake, I urge all my colleagues, regardless of party, to support this critical measure.
M/Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
