Rep. Carbajal Votes to Pass the American Rescue Plan

Press Release

Today, Rep. Carbajal voted to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, a long overdue COVID-19 relief package which delivers critical relief to overcome many of the challenges presented by the pandemic. The $1.9 trillion package will help facilitate students' safe return to the classroom, distribute more vaccines, support workers and hard-hit small businesses, and deliver another round of direct stimulus payments to assist families and boost our economy.

"The need for another round of COVID-19 relief resources has been apparent for months. Central Coast businesses have shuttered, workers have been laid off, and our children are falling behind in school. More families face eviction and food insecurity with each passing day. State and local government representatives have told me they need more federal assistance to provide essential services and roll out vaccines. Today, I'm pleased to say more help is on the way," said Rep. Carbajal. "We are facing a once in a lifetime pandemic and the American Rescue Plan is a crucial investment that meets the moment. This bill provides the critical funding needed to distribute vaccines, safely reopen schools, keep small businesses afloat, and lift Americans out of poverty. I'm glad we were able to deliver this critical assistance so we can get through this pandemic and back on our feet."

The American Rescue Plan will:

Invest in struggling individuals and families: Provides another direct payment of $1,400 per person, bringing the total relief payment amount to $2,000.

Increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child and makes it fully refundable for 2021. It also directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue advance payments based on the parents' 2019 or 2020 tax returns, which would begin on July 1, 2021.
Extends unemployment benefits, which are set to expire on March 14, and increases the weekly federal supplemental unemployment benefit to $400 per week through August 29th.
Provides $26 billion for Emergency Rental Assistance and $10 billion for the Homeowner Assistance Fund. It also provides $4.75 billion for state and local governments to provide supportive services for Americans experiencing homelessness.
Mount a national COVID-19 vaccination program and provide over $20 billion to improve administration and distribution of vaccines. It also sets aside $51 billion to scale up COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and mitigation and deploy the Defense Production Act.

Help close student learning gaps due to COVID-19. Funds a safe return to in-person instruction by making nearly $130 billion available to states and school districts to close gaps in learning. It also provides $7.6 billion to expand internet connectivity to students and communities by reimbursing schools and libraries for purchasing hotspots, internet service, and computers.

Support hard-hit small businesses by enhancing the Paycheck Protection Program, creating a restaurant revitalization fund, boosting EIDL advances, and more.

Make health insurance more affordable. Expands subsidies in the Affordable Care Act to be more generous and cover more working families. The bill provides an expanded subsidy for individuals on unemployment to purchase an ACA silver plan with a $0 premium.

The American Rescue Plan is strongly supported by a large majority of the American people -- including 60 percent of Republicans -- bipartisan state and local leaders, national education groups, trade unions and advocacy organizations, and hundreds of businesses and chambers of commerce. The legislation's provisions will cut child poverty in half and lift nearly 12 million people out of poverty.

A fact-sheet on the American Rescue Plan is available here.

Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California's 24th congressional district, encompassing Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and part of Ventura County.

###

Source