Dear Friends and Neighbors, On March 10th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the amended version of the American Rescue Plan. On March 11th, President Biden signed it into law. This legislation is a game-changer. The bill provides $350 billion to hard-hit cities, counties, and states. These desperately needed resources will prevent layoffs of our firefighters, law enforcement officers, healthcare workers, sanitation workers, schoolteachers, and other essential personnel we’ve relied on to get us through this pandemic. In addition, the legislation will attack poverty and inequality in ways we have not seen in a generation. Researchers estimate that some of the provisions (including a generous expansion of tax credits for lower-income Americans with children) will help cut the poverty rate by more than a quarter for adults and cut the child poverty rate in half. Despite what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle may say, this legislation (like the virus that put us here) is not about politics. It is about getting vaccines into arms, kids in schools, and businesses open. It is about protecting working families, expanding health insurance access, keeping families in their homes, putting food on tables, and putting much-needed money in pockets. This legislation is about sparing the lives of millions of Americans and that is exactly what it will do. I am proud of my U.S. House colleagues who stepped up to pass a package that meets this moment. We have taken another step towards saving our economy and building a foundation for lasting prosperity for all Americans. Below are just some highlights from this bill and ways it will help serve your families.INCREASES VACCINATIONS AND STOPS THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 ● Provides $20 billion to establish a national COVID-19 Vaccination Program and improve the administration and distribution of vaccinations ● Provides $51 billion to expand testing, contact tracing, and related activities ● Provides a total of $27 billion for addressing health disparities and protecting vulnerable populationsPROTECTS ESSENTIAL WORKERS ● Provides $350 billion for states, localities, the U.S. Territories, and the Tribal Governments, to help keep critical workers like frontline health care workers, police, firefighters, transit workers, teachers, EMS, and other vital workers on the jobINCREASES DIRECT PAYMENTS TO INDIVIDUALS & WORKING FAMILIES ● Provides working families an additional direct payment of $1,400 per person – bringing the total relief payment to $2,000 per person (this builds on the $600 per person direct COVID-relief payment enacted by Congress in December) ● Under the bill, single filers with incomes up to $75,000, head of household filers with incomes up to $112,500, and joint filers with incomes up to $150,000 will receive the full payment of $1,400.EXTENDS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ● Provides $300/week enhanced unemployment benefits through Labor Day, with $10,200 tax-free for those making less than $150,000, to help Americans who are waiting to get back to work. ● Extends the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) through September 6, while keeping the weekly benefit at the current $300 per week.SUPPORTS SMALL BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS ● Increases Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding and expands eligibility to ensure it reaches nonprofits of all sizes and types ● Provides $25 billion for a new program at SBA offering assistance to restaurants and bars with 20 or fewer locations that have been hit hard by the pandemic; $5 billion is set aside specifically for smaller establishments with less than $500,000 in 2019 annual revenue ● Supports small businesses by providing $15 billion for COVID-19 Emergency grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program ● Provides $10 billion to support up to $100 billion in small business financing through state, territorial, and tribal government programs, $2.5 billion is dedicated for support to business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, including minority-owned businessesPROVIDES HOUSING ASSISTANCE ● Provides $26 billion for emergency rental assistance, to help ensure struggling families continue to have a safe place to live during this pandemic, $5 billion of which is designated for emergency vouchers to transition those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, and victims of human trafficking to stable housing; $100 million for rural housing, and $20 million for fair housing ● Provides $10 billion to states, territories, and tribes to address the needs of homeowners struggling to afford their housing by providing direct assistance with mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, utilities, and other housing-related costsCOMBATS FOOD INSECURITY ● Provides a 15% increase in SNAP benefits through September to help families struggling to put food on their table. ● Allocates $800 million for WIC – supporting low-income women and infants – and temporarily boosts the value of WIC cash value vouchers for vulnerable mothers and their children ● Secures $37 million to improve the health and nutrition of low-income Americans over 60 years old through access to nutritious food ● Maintains and expands the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) Program so that low-income families have access to school meals and food assistance during both the school year and summer months ● Expands access to the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program at emergency homeless shelters to ensure more young adults can access needed nutrition supportINVESTS IN EDUCATION ● Will make a nearly $130 billion investment in re-opening K-12 schools and making up for lost time in the classroom ● These funds can be used for such things as reducing class sizes, modifying spaces so that students and teachers can socially distance, improving ventilation, providing personal protective equipment, and providing summer school for students that help make up lost learning time this yearENSURES ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE ● Makes the Child Tax Credit fully refundable and increases the annual amount from the current $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for a child under age 6). Those receiving the full advance payment of the child tax credit would be single filers earning up to $75,000, head of household filers earning up to $112,500, and joint filers earning up to $150,000. ● Increases the amount of child and dependent care expenses that are eligible for the credit to $8,000 for one qualifying individual and $16,000 for two or more qualifying individuals (such that the maximum credits would now be $4,000 and $8,000). ● Provides $1 billion for Head Start to equip facilities with the resources to safely stay open, buy PPE, technology and hire more staff.
EXPANDS SOCIAL SAFETY NET PROGRAMS & TAX CREDITS ● Provides an additional $1 billion for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) ● Creates a $1 billion Pandemic Emergency Fund to help low-income families with children ● Stabilizes multi-employer pension plans by creating a special financial assistance program to ensure the plans can continue paying retirees’ benefits ● Provides single-employer pension plans with certain pension funding relief ● Extends the employee retention credit through December 31, 2021 ● Extends payroll tax credits for paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave to September 30, 2021 For future updates about the American Rescue Plan and other legislation, be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Sincerely, Kweisi Mfume
