The Democrats are back in negotiations over President Biden's ambitious Build Back Better Act. The plan combines action on climate change with things like free community college, expanded health care services and paid family and medical leave. But while the plan is popular with everyday people like me, the President has been facing fierce resistance from Republicans, as well as from two moderate Democratic Senators: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. And that's made it personal for me.
I live in Arizona. Before Senator Sinema ran for office in Arizona in 2018, I was a longtime registered Republican. But I had begun to feel like the party leadership had left the middle class behind. I switched my affiliation in 2017 because I was disgusted by the party's attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Not one to sit passively on the sidelines, I was active in Senator Sinema's campaign in 2018. Sinema went on to become the first Democrat to win in Arizona in three decades. I was proud to help her get elected.
I campaigned for Senator Sinema because I thought a Democrat representing Arizona would mean more focus on the middle class, on issues like health care and education and the climate. We need this support, especially as we struggle to recover from the pandemic and take care of our families.
I've seen the headlines describing Senator Sinema as the last holdout for assistance to families like mine. After campaigning for her, it is really heartbreaking to see. I campaigned for her and voted for her because we need real solutions to many problems—and that's exactly what Build Back Better provides. I hope she'll do what's right for Arizona.
Things were going well for my family before the COVID-19 pandemic. Our five children were nearly grown and the oldest kids were beginning to see their lives and careers taking off. My husband and I had money saved and were able to travel. We were in a really good place.
But when the pandemic arrived, chaos hit. I had been working as a house manager at a local theater company, which shut for the first time in 100 years. I went three months trying to secure unemployment. My husband is a disabled veteran and I have some disabilities as well, so I work part-time. Very quickly, the financial security we had worked so hard for over the years was in jeopardy. Suddenly, it was incredibly challenging to pay the bills and put food on the table for ourselves and our kids living at home.
And still, we were luckier than many others because we had been able to save over the years. So we lived off money we had put aside for our kids and retirement. After months of making phone calls, I got my unemployment benefits. They weren't much, but the pandemic unemployment assistance and the stimulus payments helped us make ends meet.
Things got better last fall when the theater company reopened with an outdoor space. I'm back at work and management has done a good job getting everyone as many hours as they can. I'm slowly getting back on my feet. But I see my adult children and so many other people in our community still struggling.
Seeing the effects of the pandemic on my family and neighbors, I knew I had to take action. I've contacted Senator Sinema several times to urge her to support the policies that everyday Americans need right now. So many of those are represented in the Build Back Better Act.
Arizonans need good jobs, and we also need help ensuring we can afford the basic necessities for our families. We need to make the expanded child tax credit permanent; those payments for my two teenagers made a big difference for our family. Free community college would also be a game-changer for us, as we've had to spend a lot of our savings that we could have used to pay for higher education.
And we need more affordable health care options. My two oldest children have had a tough time trying to find plans on the marketplace that they can afford.
As an Arizonan who campaigned for her, I am counting on Senator Sinema to be the voice for the people of Arizona who elected her. Let's get this done and pass the policies that will help everyday Americans like me make ends meet.
Crystal Lutton lives in Phoenix.
The views in this article are the writer's own.
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