President Biden pitches ‘build back better’ plan in Hartford and admits proposal will be scaled back

President Joe Biden came to Connecticut Friday to pitch his massive social and environmental spending bill, stopping at a child care center in Hartford where he admitted the plan’s $3.5 trillion price tag will be pared back.

“It isn’t enough just to invest in our physical infrastructure,’' the Democratic president said during his visit at the Capitol Child Development Center. “We also have to invest in our human infrastructure.”

Biden only briefly mentioned the plan’s cost and acknowledged it will likely be trimmed by Democrats in Congress in order to win enough moderate votes.

“We’re not going to get $3.5 trillion,’' Biden said. “We’ll get less than that. But we’re gonna get it. And we’re going to come back and get the rest.’'

The plan, dubbed “build back better” by Biden, is the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. It includes everything from dental insurance for seniors to free community college as well as green energy programs to address climate change. The plan would be paid for by higher taxes on high earners and corporations.

Biden also made a stop in Storrs, where he spoke at the dedication of the Dodd Center for Human Rights at the University of Connecticut. Biden is close friends with former Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

The president’s visit — his second trip to Connecticut this year — highlights the state’s influence in the Biden administration. Both Gov. Ned Lamont and Dodd were early and unwavering supporters of Biden when he was running for president.

The state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation has been steadfast in its support of Biden’s legislative priorities, including the “build back better’' agenda.

Surveys show the nation is split on the plan. A CNN poll released this week found that 25% of Americans believe their family will be better off the “build back better” legislation — and a related infrastructure bill — win approval. About 32% said they would be worse off, and 43% said they will be about the same.

Upon his arrival at the child care center, Biden stopped in the playground and was greeted by a throng of children. One gave him a hug, as he kneeled to talk. Another, wearing an American flag t-shirt, pointed out parts of the playground.

Other children held a sign that said, “Welcome Joe Biden” with painted hand prints. The president took a picture with them. A hand-drawn poster spelling “build back better” hung near the slide. Glitter, smiley faces, and pipe cleaners were attached.

On the street outside, protesters continued to chant and yell expletives, within earshot of the president and the young children.

Inside the center, Biden said reducing the cost of child care was essential to ensuring the U.S. remains competitive in a global economy.

“How can we compete in the world if millions of American parents, especially moms, can’t be part of the workforce because they can’t afford the cost of child care?’' Biden said.

The economics of child care do not add up, said Barbara Jo Warner, executive director of the Capitol Child Development Center.

“Most parents can’t afford to pay the true cost of the high quality care that every child deserves,’' Warner said before introducing Biden. “That has meant that women who care for children have subsidized the system by working for poverty wages. We can’t charge more tuition because the cost of care is already prohibitive for many families and we aren’t able to raise wages for teachers and this makes recruiting [staff] really challenging.”

The pandemic only served to exacerbate these structural probkems, Warner said.

Under Biden’s plan, poor families would not pay for child care and middle income families would pay no more than 7% of their salaries on care. It would also provide subsidies to businesses that provide on-site child care for employees.

Biden said about half of the 3- and 4-year-olds in the U.S. are enrolled in an early childhood program, compared with 90% in Germany and France.

“We can’t afford to lag behind other countries,’' Biden said. “My plan gets us back on track.”

Lamont praised Biden’s emphasis on child care. “I think it’s the most important investment we can make for kids, giving them a head start in life,’' he said. “It also allows mom and dad to get back to work.’'

At UConn, a focus on human rights

Biden dedicated a significant portion of his remarks at UConn to warning against an erosion of democracy across the globe and human rights abuses, citing those endured by the Uighurs of the Xinjiang province in China.

“We have fewer democracies in the world today than we did 15 years ago,” Biden said, leaning in close to the mic. “Not more. Fewer.

“In an age of increasing misinformation and disinformation, we must not grow complacent in our defense of the democratic values that have been the firm foundation for an era of peace and prosperity unprecedented in human history,” Biden said. “Attacks on truth are still the harbinger of tyranny.”

Biden highlighted his administration’s efforts to address human rights abuses domestically, including a presidential proclamation to reverse President Trump’s ban on travel from several majority Muslim nations, and his decision to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council, which the Trump Administration withdrew from. Biden did not mention Trump by name.