IFPTE Urges Senator Manchin to Reverse Course on BBB, Stand Up for Working Families
December 20, 2021
Hon. Joseph Manchin III
United States Senate
306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Manchin:
There are moments in history that call for strategic, forward-thinking leadership. Such leadership may entail significant personal sacrifice, but it instills a beloved, historical legacy upon those who transcend the banal politics of the moment and do what is needed for the Nation’s posterity. Now is one of those moments.
America and West Virginia need the Build Back Better Act (BBB Act) infrastructure bill, not because this legislation fulfills an immediate political need, but rather because Congress and the President must renew their sacred commitment to each new generation to rebuild, to expand, and to redefine America’s core infrastructure, so that together we remain second to none on the planet. America’s soul is a proud, confident, shining beacon of hope and benevolence that not only inspires and lifts each new generation of its citizens, but also sets a transcendent example for the world.
IFPTE is a Union that proudly represents upwards of 90,000 workers in the private, public, and federal sectors, including over 7,000 NASA scientists, engineers, and other support staff all across the Nation, making us the largest federal labor Union at the space agency. As such, we know the future of West Virginia is 21st century blue and white-collar jobs, like those at NASA’s Katherine Johnson Integrated Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmount, are in the sustainable energy, environmental remediation, and other high-tech sectors of the future. But before West Virginia can fully capture the rewards of that economy of the future, it must first be allowed to raise the standard of living of its working families, through expanded childcare support, universal pre-K, increased college needs-based grants, extended Child Tax Credits, decreased health insurance premiums, enhanced Medicaid benefits, reduced prescription drug prices, new Medicare hearing coverage, and many other pro-working family benefits of the BBB Act.
The BBB Act is designed to help lift West Virginia families and working families throughout America to better compete in the 21st century global economy. Its programs and tax cuts would benefit the working people of West Virginia and are supported by the working people of West Virginia, and all these efforts are paid for by reversing the recent tax-windfall that enriched the top 1% of Americans while the rest of the nation suffered through the economic, health, and social hardships of the COVID and opiate pandemics. American working families need the BBB Act now and, after years of neglect, West Virginia is at the forefront of that critical need.
The country watched as you committed publicly to getting the BBB Act passed in return for the Progressive Caucus’ support for the recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure bill – legislation that IFPTE supported and worked hard to help get passed. We admire and support your maverick spirit and respect your moderate values, but the remaining members of your caucus have compromised and given you everything you demanded. The time has now come for you to find the common ground necessary with President Biden, and your colleagues in the Senate and House to support the BBB Act, not turn away from it.
We would be happy to meet with you or your staff to discuss the benefits the BBB Act promises for West Virginians, including your constituents who work in Fairmount at NASA’s Katherine Johnson Integrated Verification and Validation Facility.
America urgently needs a win. The rest of the discussion is just noise. While we were disappointed to hear your remarks over the weekend, we continue to believe that passage of the BBB Act is still within reach. Please step up to the plate and do what’s right for the working families of this nation.
Sincerely,
Matthew S. Biggs Gay Henson
IFPTE President IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer