Sherrill, Kim and Malinowski know Build Back Better is good policy and good politics | Opinion

A dark money group likely funded by big Pharma has been inundating New Jersey airwaves and newspapers with ads falsely claiming that the Biden administration’s $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation will gut Medicare. Nothing could be further from the truth. Medicare would expand under this legislation, adding new dental, hearing, and vision benefits, and would be allowed to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs.

Three New Jersey Representatives in battleground districts — Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-Montclair, Andy Kim, D-Bordentown Twp., and Tom Malinowski, D-Ringoes  — understand that these reforms and many others would bring life-changing benefits to millions of New Jersey residents and countless Americans, and have been steadfast in their support for the Build Back Better agenda.

Approval rates for the reconciliation package stand at more than 60% nationwide. That popularity only increases when you dig behind the polling for key policies. Establishing a national paid family leave program, for example, has a national approval rating of 79%. Lowering prescription drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies has an approval rating of 73%; among New Jersey seniors that approval rating rises to almost 90%.

Americans are also solidly behind the policies that would fund these reforms, with more than 60%% approving of raising taxes on the very wealthy and large corporations and increasing IRS funding to crack down on tax evasion and loopholes. By ensuring everyone pays their fair share in taxes we can and will fund the critical investments in Build Back Better. 

Sherrill, Kim, and Malinowski understand New Jersey residents in the 11th, 3rd and 7th districts want change. They were part of a “blue wave” that helped flip the House of Representatives for the Democrats in 2018 after deeply unpopular GOP attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They were re-elected in 2020 in these former Republican strongholds because of their continuing commitment to protect people’s health care and tackle big problems through meaningful, impactful reforms.

Their support for Build Back Better reaffirms this commitment. The reconciliation package greatly expands access to healthcare and prescription drugs. It also invests in American families through programs like national paid family leave, universal pre-K, housing and homeownership assistance, and funding for higher education. It addresses climate change, the digital divide, and long-standing economic and racial inequalities. Build Back Better is a long overdue reform package that could transform our state and country for generations to come.

If the Democrats wish to maintain their majority in Congress, they’ll join Sherril, Kim and Malinowski in supporting President JoeBiden’s Build Back Better package. Their districts may be considered battlegrounds, but as their 2020 re-elections demonstrate, New Jerseyans stand by lawmakers who fight for real change. Members of the House like Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-Wykcoff, who have obstructed the reconciliation package despite its popularity and obvious benefits, should take heed. The people elected you to serve their interests, not those of pharmaceutical companies and corporate lobbyists, and the people can send you packing.

We salute Sherril, Kim, and Malinowski for championing Build Back Better, and we urge all of Congress to do the same.

Maura Collinsgru, is health care program director for New Jersey Citizen Action.