By Andrew Eastep

The United States Capitol. Image credit: Martin Falbisoner Via Wikimedia Commons.

On March 12, the Biden administration passed one of the largest relief bills in American history. The bill, entitled the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, totals to roughly $1.9 trillion in relief and covers a broad range of issues, from agriculture and supply chains to elementary and secondary school relief.

The bill passed along party lines; in the US House, all but one Democratic representatives voted ‘yea’ (the exception being Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)) and all but one Republican representatives voted ‘nay’ (the exception being Rep. Thomas Tiffany (R-WI): Abstention).

In the US Senate, all Democratic Senators voted ‘yea,’ and all but one Republican Senator voted ‘nay’ (the exception being Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK): Abstention).

Republican Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) said of the bill, “whatever this rushed, partisan, special interest ‘stimulus’ package does, it comes with no bipartisan discussion, no opportunity for finding common ground.”

Republican Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) said in regards to the bill, “a lot of these dollars aren’t going to anything that’s remotely related to COVID-19… So I think we just have to point those things out. Because these decisions have long-term ramifications.”

Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) said in response to Republican criticisms: “the whole force of this bill is to not, quote unquote, spoil people by giving them too much money.”

Despite this, a poll conducted by Invest in America and Data For Progress of 1,429 likely voters found that the support of the bill was bipartisan. Of those polled, both a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents supported the bill in some capacity. A majority of voters supported all of the provisions polled. Those provisions included small business support, $1,400 checks, funding for vaccine distribution and testing, rent and eviction moratorium extensions, utility aid, funding for state, local, and territorial governments, funding for schools reopening, unemployment benefits, and expanded tax credits.

So what, exactly, is in the bill?

The bill promises a maximum rebate of $1,400 per eligible individual. All individuals with an adjusted gross income under $75,000, and married couples with an adjusted gross income under $150,000, qualify for the full $1,400. Approximately $1 trillion of the $1.9 trillion bill has been reserved from the US Treasury to be used for Pandemic Emergency Assistance.

Unemployed Americans will continue to receive their $300 weekly federal supplement but, in addition, will have income taxes the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits waived for all households making less than $150,000.

A federal program called COBRA will also cover health insurance premiums through September for those who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

For elementary and secondary schools, a total of $122,774,800,000 has been made available through 2023 to be allocated to individual states, with a total of $800,000,000 reserved for identifying homeless youth and providing them with wrap-around services and full participation in school activities.

In addition, the bill has appointed $7,500,000,000 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to be available to “carry out activities to plan, prepare for, promote, distribute, administer, monitor, and track COVID-19 vaccines.” The Secretary of Health and Human Services has also been allotted $47,800,000,000 for the purpose of testing and monitoring the spread of COVID-19.

However, there are a few provisions in the bill that expand beyond the scope of direct pandemic relief. The bill includes legislation which would make student loan forgiveness tax-free until 2025 for all loans distributed after December 31, 2020. The bill also includes provisions for the National Endowment of the Arts, the National Endowment of the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

Regarding the bill, President Joseph Biden said in a speech at the White House State Dining Room on March 6, “Look, the bottom line is this: This plan puts us on the path to beating the virus. This plan gives those families who are struggling the most the help and the breathing room they need to get through this moment.”

Featured image credit: Senate Democrats via Flickr.