{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://norcross.house.gov/press-releases?ID=95D7163A-A82C-4504-B23B-FB9BC86656C4", "Rep. Norcross Votes to Invest $761 Billion in Families, Workers, and Mental Health as Part of Education and Labor Committee Reconciliation Package", "2021-09-10", "2021", "2021-09", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Donald Norcross", "N000188", "norcross.house.gov", "norcross", "https://norcross.house.gov/press-releases", "page_html", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01), a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, voted to advance provisions of the Build Back Better Act. The bill, which advanced on a vote of 28 - 22 out of committee, includes roughly $450 billion to establish affordable child care and universal pre-K and nearly $80 billion for workforce development programs, including registered apprenticeships. It also includes a key provision authored by Congressman Norcross which expands the U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s authority to hold health insurers and plan sponsors accountable for not offering adequate mental health coverage.\n\n\u201cToday, I was proud to vote to advance the Build Back Better Act that increases opportunity for students, families, and workers,\u201d said Congressman Norcross. \u201cWe laid a clear path to make historic investments in affordable child care and higher education, strengthening our public schools, securing good-paying jobs for workers, reducing child hunger, and ensuring mental health parity.\n\n\u201cI was a single dad working in construction and back then it was hard to find affordable, quality child care. With the pandemic, it\u2019s near impossible. Investing in affordable and safe child care options will be life-changing for parents by enabling them to rejoin the workforce and contribute to our economic recovery.\u201d\n\nThe Build Back Better (BBB) Act makes a historic investment to lower the cost of child care for working families, allowing parents to get back to work and boosting the American economy by helping employers increase wages for child care providers. Additionally, the BBB Act invests nearly $80 billion in workforce development programs that allow workers to build new skills and secure good-paying jobs.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m an electrician by trade, and I know registered apprenticeships lead to more than just jobs, they lead to careers,\u201d continued Congressman Norcross, who served as an apprentice in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers before being elected to Congress. \u201cA registered apprenticeship program shaped my life \u2013 laying the foundation for me to go from the construction site to Congress. Today, many students may want to follow a similar, apprenticeship-based route, and this bill will afford them the opportunity to do that.\u201d\n\nAlso included in the BBB Act is a key provision authored by Congressman Norcross that was originally introduced in the House as the Parity Enforcement Act of 2021 (H.R.1364). Including the provision in the base text of the BBB Act will help ensure individuals receive the mental health care they deserve and are legally entitled to.\n\n\u201cWhile mental health parity is rightfully the law of the land, our enforcement mechanisms are sorely lacking. Insurance companies can get away with not following parity laws even though lives are on the line,\u201d added Congressman Norcross. \u201cIt\u2019s time to make sure the American people have the services and support they need to live healthy lives. That is why it is critical that this provision is included in the Build Back Better Act.\u201d\n\nThe Build Back Better Act provisions advanced today by the House Committee on Education and Labor include other investments, including for school district repairs and modernization that will create further jobs. Learn more about the Build Back Better Act here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-03-30T11:08:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://norcross.house.gov/press-releases?ID=95D7163A-A82C-4504-B23B-FB9BC86656C4"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8217030446976423, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}