House Passes Historic $1.9 Trillion Build Back Better Bill

House Democrats passed the Build Back Better bill Friday morning by a vote of 220-213 as Congress prepares for Thanksgiving break. The $1.9 trillion bill has been the focal point of President Joe Biden’s economic and legislative agenda.

The vote comes after House GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R- Calif., held an 8-hour filibuster to prevent his colleagues from voting on it Thursday night. The Congressional Budget Office’s final price tag said it would add $160 billion to the deficit over the next decade, as establishing how the bill would be paid for was a major issue for moderate Democrats.

The bill will include childcare, universal preschool, four weeks of paid family and medical leave, renewable energy tax incentives, a one-year child tax credit, eldercare, college assistance, $150 billion in affordable housing assistance, expanding Medicaid, expanding Medicare to cover hearing, a $35 cap on insulin, and enhanced Obamacare subsidies. The legislation will increase taxes for multimillionaires and impose a 15% tax on corporations.

"With the passage of the Build Back Better Act, we, this Democratic Congress, are taking our place in the long and honorable heritage of our democracy with legislation that will be the pillar of health and financial security in America,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The debate now shifts to the Senate, where moderate Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., may end up stripping provisions from the bill before it reaches Biden’s desk. All 50 Democratic senators will be needed to ensure the bill becomes a law.