President-elect Joe Biden introduced a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to meet the challenge of rescuing the economy in the midst of a historic economic downturn and tackling the COVID-19 public health crisis. He indicated that this package was the first of two parts to his recovery plan, the second of which he plans to introduce to Congress in the coming months.
“Today, President-elect Biden is announcing the American Rescue Plan to change the course of the pandemic, build a bridge towards economic recovery, and invest in racial justice. The American Rescue Plan will address the stark, intergenerational inequities that have worsened in the wake of COVID-19,” according to the document outlining the measures.
Notably, the package would include $1,400 one-time checks to Americans who are eligible under the income threshold. This aid would deliver on the requests of many House Democrats to put more money directly into the hands of citizens and would top off the $600 checks Americans received as the results of the stimulus package passed in December.
The package also includes an expansion of unemployment insurance programs to include a $400 supplement.
This number is higher than the $300 supplement passed in December but lower than the original $600 provided by the March package, according to The New York Times. The federal minimum wage would rise to $15 after holding steady at $7.25 for more than a decade. The New York Times suggests that almost 1.3 million people who would otherwise work may be left without jobs as companies adjust their payroll, but as of yet, it is unclear how long it would take to implement the new
wage floor across the country.
The plan lays out additional aid for parents, temporarily expanding the size of tax credits for families. Families with children up to age 13 making less than $125,000 a year would receive $4,000 for one child and $8,000 for two or more children.
Families making up to $400,000 would receive a partial tax credit. The credits are said to be “refundable,” or eligible to families even if they don’t make enough to owe income taxes.
“The increased and expanded fully refundable Child Tax Credit will cut child poverty nearly in half and provide much-needed support to middle-class families. Robust family and medical paid leave that would close loopholes in current law and
expand coverage and eligibility to tens of millions, which is critical to workers and their families, our public health, and our nation’s recovery,” House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro said in a statement. “Nothing can do more to help ease the burden on American families than these critical measures for which I have fought so long.”
The American Rescue Plan provides much-needed assistance to states and localities, a total of $440 billion, $350 billion of which is reserved for emergency funding to state, local and territorial governments. Though the plan doesn’t entirely flesh out the allocation of funds, the remainder is expected to come in the form of grants and loan programs for small businesses.
The Biden Administration also wants to speed up the school reopening process, suggesting $170 billion to be supplemented by aid for state and local governments. While $130 billion is set to go toward reopening schools kindergarten-to-eighth grade, $40 billion is reserved to go toward colleges to assist in the shift to distance learning and other challenges brought on by the pandemic.
Unsurprisingly, the package would deliver funds to combat the COVID-19 crisis, investing $20 billion in a far-reaching national vaccination program that would partner with state, local and territorial government systems and provide free
shots regardless of immigration status.
$40 billion would be reserved to stockpile protective equipment and supplies as well as strengthen supply manufacturing and deploy emergency response personnel. An additional $50 billion would go to efforts to improve testing.
While Biden’s plan would deliver on the needs of many Americans and fulfill many of the requests from House Democrats, there is some concern such a package could be delayed from passing should the Senate get tied up with impeachment hearings for the then-former president. It is unclear how well Biden will be able to navigate his ambitious agenda in the midst of a hyper-partisan political landscape.
