Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The American Rescue Plan And Highlighting The Critical Investment In Housing Assistance For Struggling Americans

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the American Rescue Plan that is delivering desperately needed housing assistance to struggling Americans and setting the stage for a supercharged economic recovery. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

As Americans learn more and more about the American Rescue Plan, the more popular it becomes and the more optimistic Americans feel about our economic recovery.

Across the country, the support for the rescue package has risen to over 70%. In January of this year, before President Biden took office and Democrats assumed the majority in the Senate, more than 4 in 5 Americans believed that America was on the wrong track, less than 1 in 5 said it was on the right track. Now, a majority of Americans—55%—believe the country is headed in the right direction, it’s back on the right track. That’s a dramatic turn rather quickly, but I think it’s in part because of the good work we have done here in the Senate.

Consumer confidence increased faster after the passage of the American Rescue Plan than after any of the other stimulus bills passed by Congress, particularly among low- and middle-income Americans who have suffered the most.

That is fantastic news. Americans at the top have been able to survive the pandemic much more easily than Americans at the lower end of the ladder. For that reason, economists have long feared a K-shaped recovery in which high-income earners recover quickly while middle and low-income earners are left behind.

The American Rescue Plan is finally restoring confidence—and support—for Americans at the middle and at the bottom, helping drive a robust recovery for everyone.

One crucial aspect of that recovery effort is support for housing.

As we all know, the pandemic put tens of millions of Americans out of work and drained family incomes. Americans were forced into impossible choices: do I pay the rent and utilities this month, or do I buy another few weeks of groceries? Sadly, more than 13 million Americans report that they have fallen behind on the rent, especially Black and Brown Americans.

So when Senate Democrats put together the American Rescue Plan, we made one of the most significant investments in housing assistance in recent history.

More than $20 billion in emergency aid for low-income renters, those at the greatest risk of eviction.

$10 billion to help homeowners behind on mortgages and utilities to avoid foreclosure.

We include crucial support for rural America, and Americans, particularly veterans, who have recently fallen into homelessness or are at-risk of homelessness.

The American Rescue Plan goes further in delivering housing assistance to tribal nations and Native Hawaiians, more than any housing bill in history.

The American Rescue Plan, quite literally, will keep a roof over Americans’ heads.

It’s just one of the many ways that the ARP delivers relief to struggling Americans and sets the stage for a supercharged economic recovery.

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