Progress of Build Back Better Act Progressing in House, Stalled in Senate

This week, the House Budget Committee announced a rare Saturday session to consider the full $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, which was considered earlier this month in multiple pieces by House Committees with jurisdiction over certain parts of the Act. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has announced her intention to bring the bill to the House floor for consideration as early as next week.

The education portion of the bill includes targeted investments in grant programs to help train new educators and address the growing educator shortage, including $297 million for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part D Section 662 personnel preparation program and programs that would support diversifying the workforce.

While the House is poised to advance the measure, finalizing Congressional action on the Build Back Better Act is contingent on the support of all 50 Democrats in the Senate because it is being advanced through a partisan process known as reconciliation which allows the Senate to bypass the filibuster rule. Some moderate Democrats in that body have indicated that the price tag will need to be reduced significantly to gain their support. Thus, the bill is still very much in flux.