House Democrats pass Biden’s expansive Build Back Better policy plan

House Democrats have passed a plan that would rebuild communities impacted by natural disasters. The legislation, which comes from the Obama Administration’s Task Force on Hurricane Recovery chaired by former Vice President Joe Biden, would invest billions of dollars in rebuilding and protecting against future natural disasters.

The legislation, which was passed on Wednesday with a 258-167 bipartisan vote, includes provisions to expand income tax benefits for disaster victims and their families, improve energy security, and invest in research and development of disaster-resilient infrastructure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would send it to the Senate next week, where its chances of passage are not clear. “I don’t know what the Senate is going to do with it," she said.

House Democrats Pass Biden's Extensive Build Back Better Policy Plan

The package of proposals aimed at rebuilding local economies, strengthening public housing, enhancing energy security, and protecting against future natural disasters was developed after Vice President Joe Biden’s Task Force on Hurricane Recovery put forth a set of reforms and recovery recommendations in May 2014.

“This historic piece of legislation is needed for communities devastated by hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other emergencies," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "This comprehensive package contains much-needed reforms that will help ensure that the communities hit by these disasters are made whole and rebuilt stronger and better than before.

Why did the House vote for the Build Back Better bill?

“Democrats have long been at the forefront of the rebuilding process following a major disaster, and that is why, when the task force was created by the President, we decided to put out a comprehensive plan of action,” she said in a statement. “This legislation will help ensure the rebuilding process is thorough, equitable, and complete.”

Many of the provisions of the bill are based on legislation introduced by Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), the bill’s original sponsor. The bill includes provisions for residents of Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, the states most affected by recent hurricanes.

Democrats said the bill makes “disaster-recovery more affordable” by increasing the amount of time that low-income and middle-income homeowners can receive tax credits for rebuilding.

What impact will the Build Back Better bill have on natural disasters?

The bill includes several policies to help the economy recover from a natural disaster. It would increase the Earned Income Tax Credit, which was designed to assist low-income families. That, in turn, could help create jobs and stabilize populations in the hurricane and wildfire zones.

According to Vice Chair of the TFA Joe E. Lewis Jr. of Louisiana, the House bill would also invest $1 billion to establish the National Resilience Fund, to invest in resilience projects and to provide funding for mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

In addition, it would expand the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, which helps to keep people off of the unemployment rolls when they are displaced by a natural disaster.

What are the implications of the Build Back Better bill?

Although the House of Representatives will pass a Senate bill, the broad outlines of Biden’s plan will likely be incorporated into the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, where Republicans control both houses of Congress. The Senate will also likely add provisions to reform the flood insurance program and increase aid to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, according to Elizabeth Will, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

"While this is certainly a bipartisan plan, its plan is based on what the administration has done with its own budget and the previous omnibus budget deal and infrastructure bill," she said.

Conclusion

Six months after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory is still in dire need of assistance.

The storm knocked out power, destroyed crops, and destroyed thousands of homes.

The Trump Administration continues to slow the effort to rebuild, and the failure of the federal response to Maria has added to the political pressure on U.S. officials to provide aid faster.

Community leaders and other prominent Puerto Ricans are calling on Congress to include more provisions in the government’s disaster relief bill that will help save lives, provide access to critical goods, and accelerate recovery efforts.

They also want Congress to pass legislation that will help Puerto Rico regain full control of its finances.

Those advocates and officials say the U.S.

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