American Rescue Plan

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I just heard the Republican leader refer to the American Rescue Plan as a grand socialist experiment. Remember that plan? That was President Biden's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. How many Republicans voted for it? Not one. Not a House Member nor a Senate Member of the Republican Member supported it.

So what was in this socialist experiment? Well, the premiere piece was to make sure we distributed the COVID-19 vaccine to every American. Obviously, some people think that is socialism. I think it is common sense. And the more and more Americans who are immunized, the more we escape the grasp of this pandemic; 99.5 percent of those who are admitted to the hospital today with serious COVID-19 symptoms are unvaccinated.

So this was socialism? I don't think so. How about the aid we gave to small businesses to stay open or reopen? That was in the American Rescue Plan. That was Biden's plan. There was not a single Republican vote for it.

Money to help businesses to reopen is socialism? Is that what the Senator from Kentucky is suggesting? Or how about the fact that today we are going to see across the United States of America help to families, middle-income families, working families, low-income families to raise their children?

So when Donald Trump writes a check for $2,000 to every American family, that is just fine, but when the Democrats and Biden want to give money to families raising children, particularly those who are struggling to raise children, that is socialism? I think not. It is common sense.

If we really value families, we are going to invest in their future. And the money that is being sent starting today to these families will lift half of the children in poverty in America out of poverty for the first time. That is a dramatic achievement. It should be a bipartisan achievement. Sadly, it is a Democratic achievement because the Republicans boycotted the vote over and over.

There is one thing that the Senator from Kentucky fails to mention when he talks about the budget resolution--maybe two things are worth saying. First is this budget resolution, which we are going to bring to the floor next week, according to the leader, is going to do dramatic things across America in terms of pre-K education, 2 years of community college and the like. And in this circumstance, it is paid for. It is all paid for.

So to say it is inflationary is to suggest that it is not paid for as adding to the debt. Who pays for it? Those making over $400,000 a year in income and corporations. That is who pays for it. And the net result of it: The biggest tax cut in the history of the United States for middle-income and working families. That is the reality.

I am going to yield the floor. I see the Senator from South Dakota has come to the floor and I know he wanted to speak. We have a few minutes left.

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