Building Back Better on Health, Family and Climate!

Building Back Better on Climate
On Thursday, I joined Senator Alex Padilla and other Bay Area climate leaders at the California Academy of Sciences to shine a bright light on the urgent need to Build Back Better on Climate.

The science is clear: climate change is the existential threat of our time. In fact, the climate crisis is already taking its toll. Here in California, we have seen devastating wildfires and severe droughts – and we could see three to six feet of sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay by the end of the century.

San Francisco stands as a model for the nation and world in combating the climate crisis. Since 1990, San Francisco has cut carbon pollution by 40 percent. Meanwhile, our local economy has grown by 200 percent – proving that there is no tradeoff between economic prosperity and climate action. Just this summer, we proudly set a new and more ambitious goal: net zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Now, led by President Biden, Congressional Democrats are taking bold climate action in Washington. Our transformative Build Back Better Act will address the climate crisis while creating good-paying jobs, building our clean energy future, advancing environmental justice, and more!

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joined Senator Alex Padilla and local climate leaders on the California Academy of Sciences Living Roof to discuss the critical provisions of the Build Back Better Act that tackle the climate crisis, create jobs, promote environmental justice and invest in our clean energy future.

Addressing the Housing Crisis
Today, I was honored to join my former colleague in the House and now-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and San Francisco Mayor London Breed at Sunnydale to highlight Democrats' work to Build Back Better on Housing!

Thanks to the HOPE SF initiative, our city serves as a model for the nation – transforming underserved neighborhoods into thriving, inclusive communities. Sadly, unaffordable rents have raised the risk of homelessness, for families here in the Bay Area and beyond – and the pandemic has only made these challenges worse. That is why Democrats fought for and won billions in last year's relief packages to help cover missed rent payments for out-of-work families, prevent homelessness with emergency housing vouchers, and help homeless families with supportive services and transitional housing.

Now, with our Build Back Better Act, Democrats will further address our country's urgent affordable housing needs. We are fighting for transformative investments in building and renovating public housing, while also expanding rental assistance opportunities for working families and helping first-generation home buyers, particularly in communities of color, achieve the American dream of homeownership

Democrats believe that doing so is both an economic and a moral imperative: ensuring every parent and child can reach their full potential. That is why housing is a pillar of the Build Back Better vision.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joins Mayor London Breed and her former colleague and now HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge at the Sunnydale HOPE SF rebuild and community development site to amplify the urgently needed housing investments in the Build Back Better Act to construct and preserve new affordable housing, preserve and modernize public housing stock, expand rental assistance and aid first-generation home buyers.

Extending the Debt Limit
This week, the House returned to Washington, D.C. to once again honor Congress's responsibility to safeguard the economic well-being of American families by addressing the debt limit through December. With the House and Senate both passing the debt ceiling increase, the bill will now be signed by President Biden to go into effect.

Failing to lift the debt limit, as Senate Republicans threatened to do, would result in a loss of up to six million jobs, the elimination of $15 trillion in household wealth and drastic increases in the cost of loans – and it could trigger a global economic collapse that would devastate nearly every American family.

The full faith and credit of the United States must never be questioned, and the financial security of families must never be threatened. That is why Democrats will continue to fight to address the debt ceiling and prevent a catastrophic first-ever default – and we call on our Republicans to join us in enacting a longer-term solution.

Go Giants!
This year's Giants are an extraordinary team, who captured the hearts and imaginations of every Bay Area fan with their magical season. With 107 wins this season, the best record in Major League Baseball this year, our Giants broke their own franchise record for most wins in a season. While the Giants came up short in Game 5, San Francisco is so proud of the team for all their accomplishments this season, and we will be rooting for them to win the series next year!

In honor of the long-standing rivalry between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Congressman Jimmy Gomez and I placed a friendly wager over the National League Division Series. With the Dodgers winning, I will be sending Congressman Gomez a San Francisco delicacy: Ghirardelli Chocolate.

Social Security Announces Benefits Increase
The Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase by 5.9% in January 2022, the biggest boost to benefits in 40 years. Increased payments to about eight million Social Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2021. For more information on this benefits increase, visit ssa.gov/cola/.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, Help Is Here! Make sure you get your Rescue Plan benefits today.

Keeping Ahead of COVID in San Francisco
The FDA has authorized a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 65 and older as well as individuals in at-risk settings. As the Delta variant spreads, you can get vaccinated and continue to take precautions to keep you and your loved ones safe. For eligible residents over the age of 12, find out where your local free vaccination sites are here, as well as at select SFUSD schools. Learn about free testing options in San Francisco here. California also announced a digital vaccination portal which can be accessed here.

Flu season is here. The San Francisco Department of Public Health strongly recommends that everyone ages six months and older get a flu vaccine to safeguard their health, with the start of a flu season that overlaps with COVID-19 this year. For more information on the flu vaccine and to find a vaccination clinic near you, go to sfcdcp.org/immunizations/where-to-get-immunized/.