{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://trahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2300", "In Advance of Build Back Better Act Vote, Trahan Offers Call with Mother to Convince GOP Members", "2021-11-18", "2021", "2021-11", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Lori Trahan", "T000482", "trahan.house.gov", "trahan", "https://trahan.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Yesterday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) spoke on the floor of the House in support of the Build Back Better Act, which is being considered in the House this week. In her remarks, Trahan offered her Republican colleagues a call with her mother, Linda Loureiro, to explain how working families like the one she grew up in will benefit from the Build Back Better Act\u2019s long overdue investments.\n\nCLICK HERE or the image below to watch footage of Trahan\u2019s remarks shared by Forbes Breaking News. A transcript of Trahan\u2019s speech as delivered is embedded below.\n\nDuring her speech, Trahan talked about how her family struggled to make ends meet growing up, which limited her mom\u2019s ability to work full time and contribute fully to the economy.\n\n\u201cMy father was a union ironworker, and like his union brothers and sisters have done for decades, he worked long, hard hours to provide for my three sisters and me...But the demands of my dad\u2019s job placed limitations on what my mom could do for work,\u201d said Congresswoman Trahan. \u201cDespite the wages and benefits secured by his union, my parents couldn\u2019t afford child care for four girls, so my mom picked up jobs where she could to help make ends meet. Whether it was clerical work, cleaning homes, hostessing, or caring for kids, she did anything and everything possible to help pay the bills while also making sure she was home to care for us while my dad was away.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s the thing: My family\u2019s story, it isn\u2019t unique \u2013 not in the slightest,\u201d Trahan continued. \u201cIn fact, it\u2019s a story shared by millions of working families across our country who show up to work each day, but don\u2019t have the support they need to get ahead...Under President Biden\u2019s leadership, we\u2019re going to flip that script.\u201d\n\nThe Build Back Better Act will reduce costs that have long been a barrier for families working to succeed financially in Massachusetts by cutting taxes and making health care, child care, home care, education, and housing more affordable. Through these once-in-a-generation investments, working parents, especially working mothers, will be able to return to the workforce, children will have new learning opportunities, and the Commonwealth\u2019s economy will grow for years to come.\n\nAt the end of her speech, Trahan offered a call with her mother to Republican members who continue to oppose these long-overdue investments.\n\n\u201cPassage of the Build Back Better Act will ensure that no one is left behind as we defeat COVID-19 and rebuild our economy...If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle need to hear more about why they should support this bill, let me know,\u201d Trahan said. \u201cMy mom Linda Loureiro is happy to call you and tell you what the Build Back Better Act would\u2019ve done for her and moms like yours forty years ago, and why we need to get it done for her children and grandchildren today!\u201d\n\nCLICK HERE to view Trahan\u2019s remarks in full.\n\n----------------------------------------------\n\nCongresswoman Lori Trahan\n\nRemarks as Delivered\n\nConsideration of the Build Back Better Act\n\nNovember 17, 2021\n\nI rise in strong support of the Build Back Better Act.\n\nTogether with the historic infrastructure investments signed into law by President Biden earlier this week, working families like the one I grew up in will be able to get back on their feet and succeed in an economy that finally works for them.\n\nNow, I\u2019ve talked about my childhood on the floor of the People\u2019s House before. My dad was a union ironworker, and like his union brothers and sisters have done for decades, he worked long, hard hours to provide for my three sisters and me. And when there wasn\u2019t work for him at home in Massachusetts, he would travel out of state, erecting bridges and buildings in New York, Maine, and other places \u2013 sometimes for months at a time. As a first-generation American, a union job with benefits was better than most had, and it\u2019s certainly the reason I\u2019m standing here today.\n\nBut the demands of my dad\u2019s job placed limitations on what my mom could do for work. Despite the wages and benefits secured by his union, my parents couldn\u2019t afford child care for four girls, so my mom picked up jobs where she could to help make ends meet. Whether it was clerical work, cleaning homes, hostessing, or caring for kids, she did anything and everything possible to help pay the bills while also making sure she was home to care for us while my dad was away.\n\nHere\u2019s the thing: My family\u2019s story, it isn\u2019t unique \u2013 not in the slightest. In fact, it\u2019s the story shared by millions of working families across our country who show up to work each day, but don\u2019t have the support they need to get ahead. And my mom\u2019s story is one that\u2019s shared by millions of working moms who want nothing more than to return to work and support their families but can\u2019t because the math doesn\u2019t work, giving them no choice but to stay at home to care for their families instead.\n\nM. Speaker, under President Biden\u2019s leadership, we\u2019re going to flip that script. The infrastructure package he signed into law earlier this week will create millions of jobs with family-sustaining wages and benefits by repairing our roads, our bridges, our water systems, and more. But creating millions of jobs only works if workers are ready to fill them. That\u2019s why we\u2019re also working to pass the Build Back Better Act, which will make unprecedented investments in working families \u2014 families that continue to be the backbone of our country, that we all have the honor of representing.\n\nBy expanding access to quality child care, providing paid family and medical leave, establishing universal Pre-K, and making home care affordable for our seniors, this legislation will propel parents \u2013 particularly working moms \u2013 back into the workforce and full participation in our economy.\n\nBy lowering health care costs and driving down prescription drug prices, the Build Back Better Act will ensure that families no longer have to choose between their health and their ability to put food on the table.\n\nAnd by cutting taxes for low-income and middle-class Americans and extending the Child Tax Credit payments that have served as a lifeline for so many, this package will keep money in families\u2019 pockets.\n\nPassage of the Build Back Better Act will ensure that no one is left behind as we defeat COVID and rebuild our economy. And that\u2019s why these provisions are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans \u2013 Democratic, Republican and independents alike. Like President Biden, they recognize that when we invest in working families, America wins.\n\nNow, if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle need to hear more about why they should support this bill, please let me know. My mom Linda Loureiro is happy to call you and tell you what the Build Back Better Act would\u2019ve done for her and moms like yours forty years ago, and why we need to get it done for her children and grandchildren today!\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-06T14:24:52Z", "2026-04-06T15:54:03Z"]], "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://trahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2300"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.730705913156271, "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"}