The $1.9 trillion covid relief package that passed the Senate this weekend is a major legislative victory just 6 weeks into Biden’s term. The American Rescue Plan will give his Presidency and Democrats in the 117th session of Congress a huge boost — in enacting more of Biden’s agenda, in the economy, in replenishing strained state and local coffers, and in giving the Democrats 100% of the credit for the hope, the recovery, and the return to normalcy for hundreds of millions of Americans. Senator Sanders called it the “most significant piece of legislation to benefit working people in the modern history of this country” — and he’s a tough one to please!
Of course, the right wing is churning out its usual disinformation machine around the contents of the bill. Zero Republicans voted for it, which puts them on record indelibly forever as voting against relief checks, against pandemic assistance, against schools reopening, against… everything of most relevance to most people at this time, according to the majority of Americans polled who favor it (62%). Let’s take a look at all the urgent relief that’s actually in the bill.
What’s in the American Rescue Plan
- $1400 direct checks
- $300/week unemployment extension through September
- Increased child tax credit to $3000-$3600 in 2021 and made it fully refundable
- Extending COBRA benefits and health benefits
- $170 billion for safely reopening schools
- $20 billion for vaccination programs
- $30 billion for PPE
- $350 billion for state and local governments devastated and depleted from the pandemic
- Funding for covid testing, contact tracing, and forecasting
- Relief for restaurants, small businesses, and farmers
- Child care and child nutrition funds
- Tax credits for sick leave and family leave
- Funding for community health, mental health, and the opioid crisis
- Emergency rental assistance, rural housing, homelessness relief
- FEMA funding
- Funeral assistance
- Relief to airlines, airports, and aviation manufacturing
- Extend benefits to rail workers
- VA funding