Washington, D.C. - Today, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), John B. Larson (CT-01), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05) voted to send the American Rescue Plan to President Biden’s desk to be signed into the law. The $1.9 trillion relief package originated in the House, which voted to pass an earlier version of the bill on February 26.
“People across Connecticut are struggling to stay in their homes, feed their families, and purchase necessities,” said Rep. DeLauro. “Many are grieving the loss of friends, loved ones, and community members. The American Rescue Plan is the relief our communities desperately need to get vaccinated quickly and get back up on their feet. By expanding and improving the Child Tax Credit, an effort I have led for nearly two decades, investing in our schools and child care industry, and providing funding to keep our Connecticut’s first responders, frontline health workers, and other providers of vital services on the job, we are building the infrastructure for the future. These investments are necessary for Connecticut’s recovery. With passage of the American Rescue Plan, help is on the way.”
“This is the most significant piece of legislation since the New Deal that will provide the resources we need to overcome this virus and help Americans to return to their normal lives. The American Rescue Plan will put shots in people’s arms, money in people’s pockets, and provide relief for their communities and schools,” said Rep. Larson. “This is in stark contrast to the $2 trillion Republican tax break, which gave 83 percent of the tax cut to the nation’s wealthiest one percent. This $1.9 trillion plan goes to everyday working-class people, who have been hurt most by the pandemic.
“On the Ways and Means Committee we crafted provisions to give working families the financial relief they need to weather this pandemic,” Rep. Larson continued. “For example, a middle-class family of four could receive up to an additional $8,800 in direct payments and the expanded Child Tax Credit, something led by our own Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro. Additionally, this bill will provide assistance to our local governments which have borne the brunt of this pandemic financially. I’ve shared this good news with leaders across the First District who are breathing a sigh of relief. When this package is enacted, towns in CT-01 will receive $212 million in local aid and $252.5 million in education funding, and Connecticut residents will receive $4 billion in direct payments. I am proud to vote today to send this bill to the President’s desk.”
“Connecticut towns and cities have borne a lot of the brunt of the pandemic, providing essential public health, public safety, and social services,”?said Rep. Courtney. “The demand for these unexpected services is far from over, as I’ve seen, for example, at local food bank drive-throughs and at vaccination clinics where local police are doing everything from transporting the vaccine to managing crowds who need help. The American Rescue Plan Act will get long-awaited relief straight to municipalities where it’s needed most right now, and it will do so quickly and directly. The bill streamlines the payments and allows flexibility for local leaders.
“I’m grateful for President Biden’s leadership in moving this new round of support across the finish line, and for my House colleagues who worked to lead the way once again towards comprehensive, bipartisan relief for our communities,” Rep. Courtney continued.
“The American Rescue Plan is one of the most significant pieces of legislation Congress has ever passed,” said Rep. Himes. “It brings direct relief to working families in Connecticut and across the nation and provides aid to states and localities to maintain and restore vital services like fire and police departments that have been affected by the pandemic. The funds will also help speed up vaccine distribution and school reopening so we can get back to normal sooner. Thank you to President Biden and leaders in the House and Senate who worked to achieve this momentous bill.”
“The impacts of the American Rescue Plan will be felt immediately,” said Rep. Hayes. “The Plan provides substantial investments to speed up equitable vaccine distribution, crucial funding for safe school reopening, extended unemployment benefits, direct payments of $1400, nutrition assistance, and an expanded Child Tax Credit. Provisions from my bill, the Save Education Jobs Act, will protect funding for low-income school districts and ensure education funding is spent responsibility. This package delivers on our promise to give America the resources it needs to start a safe return to normal life.”
The President’s American Rescue Plan will save lives and livelihoods:
- Put Vaccines in Arms: The plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and addressing disparities facing communities of color. It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments and addressing health care disparities.
- Puts Resources in the Hands of Connecticut Towns and Cities – The Plan provides over $4.3 billion directly to the State of Connecticut and to cities and towns across the state, helping to support strained essential services from firehouses and police departments, to public schools, public works, and local efforts to protect public health and slow the spread of the virus.
- Put Children Safely Back in School: The plan will make a nearly $130 billion investment in school re-opening and making up for lost learning. Connecticut K-12 schools will be receiving more than $1.1 billion.
- Put Money in People’s Pockets: The plan finishes the job on the President’s promise to provide $2,000 in direct assistance to households across America with checks of $1,400 per person, following the $600 down payment enacted in December. The plan will also provide direct housing assistance, nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills and supporting 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit more than 17 million low-wage workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit.
- Put People Back In Jobs: The plan will provide crucial support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination, with EIDL grants, expanded PPP eligibility and more. The plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.
For more information, contact Patrick Malone at Patrick.malone@mail.house.gov.
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