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The American
Rescue
Plan

THE AMERICAN
RESCUE PLAN

About

Senate Democrats promised big, bold, urgent COVID relief. With the American Rescue Plan, we delivered that relief to Americans across this country. The American Rescue Plan passed the Senate on March 6th, 2021 and provides $1.88 trillion in federal investments to defeat the COVID-19 virus and provide workers and families with resources needed to survive the pandemic.

Specifically, the bill provides funding for:

  • Agriculture and nutrition programs, including extending SNAP and the Pandemic EBT program to keep families fed through the pandemic;
  • Schools and institutions of higher education to safely reopen schools, address learning loss, and support students and staff, including support for broadband for students;
  • Child care to help sustain child care providers and expand child care assistance to 857,000 children;
  • COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, treatment, and prevention, especially for hard to reach communities and areas;
  • Mental health and substance-use disorder services;
  • Emergency rental assistance, homeowner assistance, and other housing programs to help families pay rent, mortgages, and utilities;
  • Transit agencies to prevent layoffs of transit workers and prevent severe cuts to transit services that essential workers and the general public rely on.
  • Payments to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments for economic relief and to combat the virus;
  • Multiemployer pension plans;
  • Small business assistance, including specific programs for restaurants and live venues;
  • Support for health care workers, transportation workers, federal employees, veterans, and other targeted populations;
  • International and humanitarian responses and;
  • Tribal government services.

The bill also includes provisions that:

  • Extend enhanced unemployment benefits through September, providing an additional $300 per week on top of all state unemployment benefits;
  • Provide direct economic impact payments of $1,400 per eligible individual and $2,800 for couples making up to $150,000 per year. Eligible families will also receive an additional $1,400 payment per child and adult dependent, amounting to $5,600 for an average family of four;
  • Expand the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, two powerful and effective tools to end poverty;
  • Provide premium assistance for certain health insurance coverage; and
  • Require coverage, without cost-sharing, of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).