On January 21, 2021, President Biden announced his "American Rescue Plan."
A recap of the President's "American Rescue Plan," from the County's federal advocates at Alcalde & Fay is provided as follows:
American Rescue Plan
Although Congress approved a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package last month, the effort was completed with the common understanding that another package would be needed shortly after the new Congress convened. As such, this week President-elect Joe Biden outlined his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the first step of his two-step plan for rescue and recovery from both the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis it has caused. While announcing the outline of his American Rescue Plan, the President-elect also confirmed he planned to unveil the second step, the Build Back Better Recovery Plan, during his first appearance before a Joint Session of Congress in February; that proposal, will focus on economic recovery and will include what he described as “historic investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, innovation, research and development, and clean energy.”
As expanded on below, the proposal is focused on immediate pandemic-related needs, such as providing direct relief and support to families and struggling communities and the expansion and enhancement of vaccine distribution as President-elect Biden has set an ambitious goal to deliver 100 million vaccine doses within the first 100 days of his Presidency. Of particular note, and further expanded on below, the rescue plan includes another round of direct payments to individuals as well as nearly $350 billion in stabilization funding for state, local, and territorial governments.
For your reference, we have highlighted several key components of the American Rescue Plan below; we expect additional details to be made available in the coming weeks as the President-elect and his Administration work with Congress to develop specific details and legislative language on each of the below items, and we will continue to update you as this process moves forward.
Support to Struggling Communities -- $440 billion
- State and Local Stabilization Funding: $350 billion in stabilization funding to state, local, and territorial governments to ensure public workers are on the job and paid, while also distributing vaccine, scaling testing, opening schools, and providing vital government services. $3 billion of this funding would be allocated to the EDA to provide resources to state and local governmental entities, tribal institutions, institutions of higher education, and non-profits to fund economic development initiatives, twice as much as was provided in the CARES Act. An additional $20 billion would also support Tribal governments’ response to COVID.
- Small businesses support: $15 million to provide flexible, equally distributed grants for small businesses; $35 billion in investments in state, local, tribal, and non-profit small business financing programs to generate $175 billion in low-interest loans and venture capital; and ensure support for restaurants, bars and other businesses that have suffered disproportionately.
- $20 billion for hardest hit public transit agencies.
National Vaccination Program, Containing COVID-19, and Safely Reopening Schools -- $400 billion
- $160 billion to establish a national vaccination program, expand testing, mobilize public health jobs programs, and executive other COVID-19 containment activities. This amount would include:
- $20 billion for a national vaccination program in partnership with state and local governments, territories, and tribes to establish community vaccination sites, vaccination centers, and mobile vaccination units for hard-to-reach areas. The vaccine would be available to all free-of-charge and without cost-sharing (regardless of immigration status), and the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) will be expanded to 100% for administration of vaccines.
- $50 billion to expand testing, purchase rapid tests, expand lab capacity and help schools and local governments implement regular testing protocols.
- $40 billion pandemic-related emergency management activities to support President-elect Biden’s commitment to fully use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to produce more pandemic supplies. This amount includes: $30 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) for supplies and PPE, as well as to provide 100% federal reimbursements to states, localities and tribes for emergency response resources related to the pandemic including deployment of the National Guard; and $10 billion to expand domestic manufacturing for pandemic supplies.
- Funding for a public health jobs program to fund the deployment of 100,000 public health workers to perform community vaccine outreach and contact tracing and eventually transition to community health roles in order to expand long-term public health capacity and reduce hospitalization for low-income individuals.
- Funding to provide health services in underserved populations in order to address health disparities and expand access to health care services through Community Health Centers and tribal health services and supports the expansion of COVID-19 treatment and care, including vaccination access.
- Funding for states to deploy strike teams to long-term care facilities experiencing an outbreak and conduct infection control oversight, as well as funding for prisons including supplies for COVID-19 safety and mitigation activities including social distancing and PPE, safe re-entry for the formerly incarcerated, and vaccination of both incarcerated individuals and staff.
- Funding to increase national disease sequencing, surveillance, and outbreak analytics capacity at the levels demanded by the crisis, as well as funding to invest in reliable treatments for COVID treatments and therapies.
- $170 billion to safely reopen schools and continue providing institutional and student support, including the following allocations:
- $130 billion for K-12 schools to support efforts to safely reopen, and the President-elect noted a goal of opening most K-8 schools within the first 100 days of his administration. Funding can be used to reduce class sizes, modify space so teachers and students can socially distance, improve ventilation, hire janitors, purchase PPE and other pandemic supplies, ensure access to school nurses, provide student support including summer school and other support resources, close the digital divide, expand community schools, and other costs to safely reopen schools. This funding must also be used to provide resources for students’ academic, mental health and social and emotional needs in response to COVID, and funds may also be used to prevent cuts to pre-k programs. Funding will be reserved for a new COVID Educational Equity Challenge Grant to support state, local, and tribal governments in working with educational stakeholders to respond to educational challenges in the pandemic. Additionally, schools will have access to the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for the reimbursement of certain incurred pandemic-related expenses COVID expenses and will receive support implementing regular testing protocols.
- $35 billion to expand the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) to implement public health protocols and distance learning plans, and provide emergency grants to students at public institutions, including community colleges, as well as public and private HBCUs and MSIs. Additionally, this funding will provide students with up to $1,700 in financial assistance from their colleges.
- $5 billion for governors to provide grants to support the hardest hit elementary and postsecondary schools, institutions of higher education, and early childhood programs and support educational programs and the learning needs of students.
- Emergency Paid Leave
- Reinstates and expands the emergency paid sick and family and medical leave policy through September 30, 2021;
- Reimburses state and local governments for the cost of this leave, a provision long sought by state/local government following enactment of he expanded leave requirements in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
- Provides expanded paid sick and family and medical leave of up to 14 weeks to help parents with additional caregiving responsibilities when a child or loved one’s school or care center is closed, people who have or are caring for people with COVID symptoms, or those who are quarantining due to exposure and need to take time off to get vaccinated;
- Provides a maximum paid leave benefit of $1,400 per-week for eligible workers earning up to $73,000 annually; and
- Eliminates exemptions for employers with more than 500 and less than 50 employees, while reimbursing employers with less than 500 employees for the cost of this leave by extending the refundable tax credit to reimburse employers for 100% of this cost.
Immediate and Direct Relief to Families -- $1 trillion
- Direct Payments to Individuals: Provides another round of direct payments to individuals of up to $1,400, which when combined with the direct payment of up to $600 provided by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 enacted in late December, reaches the $2,000 level touted in recent weeks.
- Unemployment Insurance: Provides enhanced unemployment insurance (UI) benefits at $400 per week through September 2021, extends UI benefits for self-employed individuals and gig workers who don’t usually qualify for unemployment, and fully funds state work sharing programs.
- Rental Assistance: The plan would extend the eviction/foreclosure moratorium, continue applications for forbearance on fed guaranteed mortgages through September 30, 2021, and provide legal assistance to households facing eviction or foreclosure. In addition the plan provides:
- $30 billion total in rental assistance - $25 billion to provide rental relief for low- and moderate-income households and $5 billion to cover home energy and water costs and arrears through programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and
- $5 billion in emergency assistance to states and localities help secure housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
- Food and Nutrition Assistance:
- Provides a 15-percent SNAP benefit increase through September 2021 and temporarily eliminate the required state match. President-elect Biden additionally has committed to providing this boost in SNAP benefits for as long as the pandemic persists.
- $3 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to account for increased enrollment.
- $1 billion in additional nutrition assistance for territories.
- Proposes using the FEMA Empowering Essential Deliveries (FEED) Act to leverage resources of the restaurant industry to get food to those who need it and help get laid-off restaurant workers around the country jobs.
- Raises the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $15/hour and end tipped minimum wages and sub-minimum wages for tipped workers and individuals with disabilities.
- Child Care:
- $25 billion for an Emergency Stabilization Fund to help hard hit childcare providers reopen, pay rent and utilities, payroll, and increased costs associated with the pandemic;
- $15 billion in additional funding for Child Care and Development Block Grant program;
- The plan proposes an increase in tax credits to help cover the cost of childcare to as much as half of their spending on child care for children under 13, for a total of $4000 for one child and $8000 for two or more. The full 50 percent credit will be available to families making less than $125,000 per year, while families making between $125K and $400K will receive a partial credit.
- Earned Income Tax Credit: Raises the maximum EITC for childless adults from $530 to $1,500, raise the income limit for the credit from about $16,000 to about $21,000 and expand the age range eligible by eliminating the age cap for one year.
- $20 billion for veterans health care
- $1 billion for states to cover the additional assistance Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients have needed during the pandemic.
- $4 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to expand access to substance abuse and mental and behavioral health services.
- $800 million in supplemental funding for federal programs that protect survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
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According to The Hill, Senate Democrats took a first step on February 2 toward passing a coronavirus relief bill, following a call with President Biden, who urged them to “go big.” President Biden apparently signaled that he is rejecting a $618 billion proposal sponsored by 10 GOP senators as “too small” and told Democrats that his clear preference is for Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion package, despite concerns voiced by Republicans about the impact on the deficit.
After the call concluded, the Senate voted 50-49 on a straight party-line vote to proceed to a budget resolution that greenlights passing a separate coronavirus relief bill through reconciliation, avoiding a 60-vote legislative filibuster.
On February 3, the House approved a budget measure on a 218-212 vote directing a dozen committees to start drafting the pieces of President Biden's bill, including $1,400 stimulus checks, $350 billion in state and local aid, and the $15 minimum wage.
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