VIDEO: Bustos Helps Pass Historic American Rescue Plan to Deliver Desperately Needed Pandemic Relief

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) cast her vote in favor of the American Rescue Plan. Aimed at delivering desperately-needed relief from the public health and economic impact of the global pandemic, this historic package will return children safely to the classroom, deliver vaccines to the people, put dollars into Illinois families' pockets, support our small businesses and more to crush this virus and rebuild our economy.

WATCH: Congresswoman Bustos speaks on the House Floor in support of the American Rescue Plan.

Recently, more than 101,000COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Illinois' 17th Congressional District. More than 520,000 American lives have been lost, including 20,000 Illinoisans, to the pandemic.

"As our nation begins to emerge from a dark winter, the American Rescue Plan is our guiding light. This big, bold package is just what the doctor ordered -- vaccine shots in arms, money in taxpayers' pockets, our children back in schools and Americans back to work," said Congresswoman Bustos.

"This pandemic has spared no one -- every single one of us has been touched by it over the last year and every corner of our communities have faced a tremendous amount of grief and struggle. The American Rescue Plan is an opportunity to deliver the help the American people need to defeat the COVID-19 virus and build our economy -- our nation -- back better."

WATCH: Congresswoman Bustos speaks on the House Floor in support of the American Rescue Plan.

The American Rescue Plan will:

Help for Every Town, City and County: An estimated $7.4 billion in help will be delivered to Illinois, with $399,450,000 of that funding reaching the 14 counties across Illinois' 17th Congressional District to support cities, towns and counties in need. A full breakdown of what each county, city and town is estimated to receive can be found here.

Lifting Children Out of Poverty: In Illinois' 17th Congressional District, an estimated 46,000 children live in poverty. Economists estimate the American Rescue Plan will cut child poverty in half and lift nearly 12 million people out of poverty.

Supporting Small Business: $7.25 billion for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding and expanded eligibility for the program. As of last month, 10,005 small business have applied for PPP loans and $613,172,281 has been disbursed to support 84,912 jobs in Illinois' 17th Congressional District.

Getting Our Kids Back in School: $122 billion to help K-12 schools safely reopen and return to the classroom. In Illinois' 17th Congressional District, approximately 113,000 K-12 students are participating in a blend of learning virtually and in-person.

Supporting Desperately-Needed Child Care: $39 billion for child care providers through the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program. Since February of last year, more than 2.3 million women have left the U.S. workforce and women account for 80 percent of all workers who left the workforce last month.

Helping Our Farmers, Producers and Food Banks: $16 billion for the United States Department of Agriculture, including nearly $4 billion for commodity purchases that will be distributed to those in need by way of restaurants and nonprofits like the Northern Illinois Food Bank, River Bend Food Bank and Peoria Area Food Bank.

Getting Shots in Arms with Vaccines, Testing and Tracing: $400 billion in sweeping measures to support a national vaccine campaign, mobilize 100,000 health care workers and ramp up testing, contact tracing and mitigation efforts.

Delivering Direct Relief: $19 billion in emergency rental assistance. Provides $1,400 in direct relief to the American People, increasing the amount of direct relief payments to the American people to a total of $2,000.

Background

Economists have estimated that the targeted steps outlined in the American Rescue Plan will generate $1.25 for every $1 of spending. According to Moody's, our nation could lose an estimated four million jobs this year without immediate action. Economists have said that young people would potentially face lower lifetime earnings and millions of parents would face reduced wages and job prospects without the child care support included in this package. Without this package, it has been estimated that would take another four years before Gross Domestic Product returns to its pre-pandemic levels.

House Democrats first passed the American Rescue Plan in February, before it was sent to the Senate. Today's passage marks the final approval of the package before it heads to President Biden's desk. The President is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday, March 12th. Last week, Congresswoman Bustos hosted a small business webinar to help local owners answer questions about available assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program and the American Rescue Plan.

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