I read “Four takeaways from president’s address, which ran hot and cold with GOP” [news, March 2] with a mixture of alarm and bemusement until I got to the paragraph where the important news revealed itself: “Biden still spoke to the priorities contained in Build Back Better.” Yes he did. Which echoes what I and so many others in the faith community have been hearing for months from Congress. From climate provisions to extending — ideally, permanently — the child tax credit, there is enormous energy and desire among members of Congress to pass some version of Build Back Better. The lamentable holdup thus far has been finding just the perfect balance to get 50 Senate votes.
My colleagues and I at the Friends Committee on National Legislation are concerned about the 3.7 million children who fell into poverty in January after the expanded child tax credit expired. President Biden can call his agenda what he likes. Or change its name each day. Just so long as he continues to push for the same outcomes he has been, and that so many in Congress and nationwide still want. We will happily take a rose by any other name.
Amelia Kegan, Washington
The writer is the domestic policy legislative director for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.