By Katie Fleischer for Ms. Magazine.
Broadcast version by Lily Böhlke for Kentucky News Connection reporting for the Ms. Magazine-Public News Service Collaboration

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Earlier this month, Congress successfully passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure framework (BIF), sending it to President Biden, who signed it into law last week. The bill focuses on traditional infrastructure, designating billions towards maintaining and updating roads, bridges and water systems, and expanding Internet access across the country. But while many congressional Democrats are celebrating the passage of the bipartisan bill, some progressives are worried about the side of infrastructure that the bill ignores: "human" or "social" infrastructure.

The infrastructure bill is meant to be part of a set, but its sibling bill, the Build Back Better (BBB) Act, is facing a slower slog in Congress-specifically, the Senate, after the House of Representatives passed the BBB last Friday.

The bill, passed largely along party lines 220 to 213, represents "a giant step forward," said President Biden. "Above all, it puts us on the path to build our economy back better than before by rebuilding the backbone of America: working people and the middle class."

The BBB focuses on investing in childcare, preschool, paid family leave and maintaining Biden's expanded child tax credit (CTC). It also sets aside money for addressing climate change and increasing access to affordable housing.

The legislation now moves to the Senate where the paid leave provision has been a sticking point for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), despite widespread bipartisan support. The BBB would create the first national paid family leave policy in the U.S., providing four weeks of paid leave. It would also extend the expanded CTC for one year, provide money to invest in maternal health, increase access to affordable healthcare and set aside funding to help cover home care for elderly people and disabled people.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many conservative lawmakers-and some moderates-are balking at the $1.75 trillion price tag that comes with these unprecedented policies that they see as unnecessary expenses. Before Friday's vote came together, moderate representatives had pledged to delay a vote in the House until BBB's effect on the national debt was scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). They promised to vote for the bill as long as the CBO finds that the BBB will have a minimal impact on the national debt.

Progressives argue the BBB seems to be facing an unfair double standard, because the BIF, which has now become law, will add an estimated $256 billion to the debt, according to the CBO.

This double standard is an example of pervasive biases that causes some progressive bills to face disproportional opposition. Too often, policies that are perceived to be "feminine" or unequally benefiting women are dismissed in favor of more "serious" policies.

These two infrastructure bills are no exception. The BIF passed with bipartisan support, with lawmakers from across the aisle coming together to pass the monumental bill that prioritizes industries like construction and civil engineering. It's no coincidence that almost all of the jobs created by the BIF will go to men, while the BBB, which focuses on things like childcare, elder care and paid family leave, is still stalled in Congress.

But while social spending is often dismissed as only benefiting women, policies like the CTC, paid family leave and guaranteed income result in better outcomes for everyone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents-particularly moms-were forced to leave the workforce in droves to take care of their children. But these policies provide a path towards reentering the workforce, resulting in more families having access to health insurance, multiple salaries and other resources like paid medical leave.

One low-income mom, Johnnie (last name withheld for anonymity), explained:

"During the pandemic, it was really hard for me because it was mandatory for me to go to work, but then my daughter was home from school and I didn't have anyone to be there to help her. If I would've had some assistance from my employer, I also wouldn't have been behind on my rent. I really think the government needs to have some kind of program to make sure that essential workers are taken care of if there's another pandemic. I really just think that employers and the government need to be prepared better for something like this-have supplies, have support programs, have a plan in place."

Pandemic-era policies like the expanded CTC have had a very real impact on the lives of low-income families. Even the BBB only extends the CTC for another year. But establishing a permanent CTC-and introducing other federal policies like guaranteed income-would result in unprecedented growth for families.

Sequaya, a low-income Black mom receiving $1,000 each month in guaranteed income from the Magnolia Mother's Trust (MMT) program, reflected on how the CTC has impacted her daughter's life:

"The new child tax credit payments have helped me a lot, especially since I've just gone from getting paid every week to having zero income. It's helped to put shoes on my daughter's feet and food in the fridge until my SNAP benefits come through. It's a big relief to wake up and just know, 'Okay, I'm not going to have to borrow money today because I have that extra help coming in.' It's very helpful."

Another MMT mom, I'esha, agrees that federal social infrastructure is key to supporting low-income Americans even after the pandemic.

"To get the child tax credit payments that started coming last month has been a huge help. I was able to use the first payment in July to get prepared and buy my children their school things-there's so much to get. And now that I have the guaranteed income money coming in, I don't have to worry about whether I can afford bills this month or be concerned about affording household supplies."

"I would love to see a program like the Magnolia Mother's Trust offered to more people, too. The government should want to pitch in a little more to help with programs like guaranteed income to help more families... If I could talk to President Biden, I would tell him that he should make the child tax credit permanent, because so many people are still unemployed and the pandemic is not over. And people need help even without a pandemic going on."

The COVID pandemic has made it clear that investments in social infrastructure policies have monumental effects on not just women, but their children and other family members as well. For the families receiving guaranteed income through MMT, even just one year of receiving $1,000 per month made a tremendous difference. The percentage of trust participants able to pay all their bills without additional support soared from 37 percent to 80 percent during the program.

Similarly, after receiving guaranteed payments for a year, 85 percent of participating moms had completed their high school education, compared to 63 percent at the beginning of the program. MMT families were also 20 percent more likely to have children performing at or above grade level, and were 27 percent more likely to seek needed medical care than other families not receiving guaranteed income.

And the benefits weren't limited to within MMT families. Several moms were able to go back to school, find stable housing and even start their own businesses, investing it back into their communities. The BBB recognizes that supporting small businesses is an important part of helping communities recover from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, and that "soft" infrastructure is a key part of that recovery.

A recent report found that 66 percent of small business owners believe the federal government should support access to affordable child care, and more than half of small business owners say that a lack of childcare funding has had a negative impact on their employees and business. Additionally, 72 percent of small business owners have employees with at least one child under 13, but only 28 percent can currently afford to offer benefits related to child care.

With hundreds of thousands of parents-especially moms-dropping out of the workforce during the pandemic, many economic justice experts agree that the BBB is an opportunity to show how policies that center low-income families can improve everyone's quality of life. Instead of continuing to overlook policies due to sexist stereotypes about who benefits from social spending, Americans can and should embrace human infrastructure as a path forward towards economic recovery.

Passing the BBB and advocating for other federal policies, like guaranteed income, will prioritize the economic stability of everyone, not just male-dominated industries. And it's clear that policies like paid family leave and the CTC don't just benefit women, they benefit entire communities. Investing in traditionally female-dominated industries like childcare will give struggling Americans the support they need to recover from the pandemic, set their children up for success and rebuild their communities.

Katie Fleischer wrote this article for Ms. Magazine.


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Arkansas is taking critical steps to address its high maternal mortality rate, especially among women of color.

In the Natural State, Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than are white women.

Angela Duran, executive director with Excel by Eight, partners with families and communities to improve health and education outcomes for children up to age eight.

She said that as a result of focus groups and surveys, her organization has developed a new policy agenda that prioritizes maternal health.

"We are looking at is making sure that women have the right health insurance to cover them from prenatal to birth to postpartum," said Duran. "We have met some amazing doulas in the state of Arkansas, who have been very supportive to women, particularly some African American doulas, and been working with Black women around the state."

Duran said Arkansas now offers insurance to women up to 138% of the federal poverty level as a result of the Medicaid expansion.

She added that women at higher incomes can also access health insurance with low or no premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

Duran commended Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' signing the executive order to address maternal mortality and increase access to doulas and various forms of health insurance.

Arkansas has a maternal mortality rate of approximately 44 deaths per 100-thousand live births.

Duran said her group's policy objective centers on examining populations that face disenfranchisement from systems for various reasons, hindering their ability to navigate existing structures effectively.

"In addition to maternal health, knowing that it has a stronger impact on Black women, we look at ALICE families - which stands for Asset-Limited Income Constrained and Employed," said Duran. "So, it's people that are working, doing the right thing, and still don't have enough income to meet their basic expenses."

Duran added that a prenatal care model called Centering Pregnancy helps to improves outcomes for Black and white women.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is launching a mobile version to reach underserved communities. It creates support groups for expectant mothers at similar stages.




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Supporters of a federal pilot program to distribute diapers to low-income families in Massachusetts hope to build upon its success.

More than 1 million diapers, along with wipes and other needed supplies have helped some 1,600 families over the past several months.

Adriana Leo, director of planning and grants management for Community Action Inc. in Haverhill, said the program gives parents with limited budgets a chance to get ahead.

"If a family knows that they have the diaper supply to send their child to care, they also know that they can then go to work, to their school programs," Leo explained. "They're going to be covered and their child's going to be comfortable."

Leo noted enrolled families have received 100 diapers each month, giving them the financial flexibility to cover other basic needs. More than one-third of Massachusetts families said they cannot afford enough diapers for their children.

The Massachusetts Association for Community Action, a coalition of more than 20 community action agencies in the state, was awarded more than 1 million dollars in federal aid to distribute diapers via four hubs across the state and Western Connecticut.

Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, is sponsoring legislation to create a state fund to keep up the effort, and has held diaper drives at the statehouse to build support.

"The biggest awareness building activity you can do is to hold a diaper drive and have people who haven't experienced the high cost of diapers recently go to the store and see how much they are," Domb asserted.

Domb pointed out diaper distribution is just one strategy to help families make ends meet, in addition to direct cash payments. She noted WIC and SNAP funds cannot be used for diaper purchases. The bill has already advanced to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Mary Marte, housing program director for North Shore Community Action Programs, said it is encouraging news, as parents have reported the challenge of paying rent and going without diapers at the end of the month.

"The clients and the families that we work with, they cannot afford to pay $3,000 rent in the north shore," Marte emphasized. "I think that people really appreciate the help."

Marte added she thinks of a young mother and her one-year-old daughter who have benefited from the diaper distribution program, who told Marte the diapers have brought her a sense of security as she attends college and the confidence to keep going.


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Student-loan borrowers in Mississippi and nationwide could have their debt reduced or eliminated through a new one-time adjustment by the U.S. Department of Education.

This summer, the Department will gives you credit towards loan cancellation through this adjustment if your loan is federally managed.

Cora Hume is an attorney with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and said this adjustment is designed to count more of the payments made - so they can be added to the payments required for cancellation.

The adjustment counts your loan payments made after July 1, 1994 - and in some situations your deferments, economic hardship allowances, and forbearances.

"Historically, borrowers of all ages have struggled to access this Income Driven Repayment benefit," said Hume. "It's really important that they do because it can lower their monthly payments based on their income and family size. This April 30 deadline applies to some loans."

In Mississippi, 145,000 borrowers aged 25 to 34 owe an average of more than $31,000.

Hume said those with nonfederal loans need to consolidate them into a direct consolidation loan with the U.S. Department of Education by the end of April to potentially benefit from this adjustment.

Hume emphasized that student loan debt does not discriminate, and their data shows that 2.7 million older borrowers owed an average of $41,000 in federal student loans in 2023.

She said between 2004 and 2022 there was a nine-fold increase in the number of older borrowers with student loan debt.

"Thirty-two percent of these older borrowers are struggling to pay their bills," said Hume. "In terms of this adjustment, we know that 62-plus borrowers are more likely to need consolidation to maximize the benefit of this one-time pay count adjustments. "

Hume pointed out that more than one million senior citizens are not in the direct-loan program and hold an average of more than $29,000 in debt from their college days.

She encouraged borrowers to visit StudentAid.gov/loan-consolidation to find out if they are eligible for the significant adjustment.




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