By: Emdad S.
The House of Representatives officially passed the American Rescue plan with a 220-211 vote. The bill passed in the Senate last Saturday with a 50-49 vote, though no Republican voted for it, as it was a straight party line vote for the Democrats. Many Republicans opposed this and had strong opinions about it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “President Biden's spending bill is a classic example of big Democratic overreach in the name of COVID relief.” Although many Republican politicians are against this bill, a poll from AP News finds 61% of Americans overall support the relief package, and 66% say they believe it would help the economy in some way. The poll, conducted among three million adults from March 3-8, also found majority support for most of the individual policies included in the bill. President Biden promised, “Help is on the way.” He will sign the bill into law on Friday, which will then send checks out to Americans. This is the first piece of legislation for the Biden Administration, coming at a crucial time during the pandemic. Update: President Biden signed the bill into law on Thursday, one day earlier than originally announced.
Bill Details from CNBC & NPR
$1400 in direct payments to most Americans
Federal unemployment insurance payments will remain at $300 per week
Expansion of child tax credit, increasing the amount to $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 for children under age 6.
$130 billion for K-12 schools, to safely reopen most schools within 100 days.
The money for K-12 schools may be used to improve ventilation in school buildings, reduce class sizes to make social distancing possible, purchase personal protective equipment, and hire support staff.
$7.5 billion to track, administer and distribute COVID-19 vaccines. Another $46 billion would go toward diagnosing and tracing coronavirus infections, and $2 billion would go toward buying and distributing various testing supplies and personal protective equipment.
$28.6 billion for a new grant program for restaurants and bars to meet payroll and other expenses.
$350 billion to help state, local, and tribal governments bridge budget shortfalls and mitigate the fiscal shock.
To find out more, visit https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/09/974841565/heres-whats-in-the-american-rescue-plan-as-it-heads-toward-final-passage
President Biden & Vice-President Kamala Harris watch as the votes were being counted in the Capitol.
Images from @POTUS Twitter Account & CNN