Washington – President Biden signed the $ 1.9 trillion US rescue plan law on Thursday, ending an early political victory that will send much-needed aid to millions of Americans still struggling. Covid-19 pandemic.
“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving the people of this nation, the working people, the middle class, the people who built the country, an opportunity to fight,” he said. say Biden before signing the bill, a day earlier than expected.
The bill was closely approved by the House Wednesday with a vote of 220 to 211 votes, with a Democrat joining all Republicans to vote against. He passed the Senate on Saturday with a 50-49 vote, also on the party line.
Biden signed the bill hours before delivering his first national first hour address on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since caused more than 529,000 American lives. The White House said President and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta next Friday, part of what the White House calls the “Help is Here” tour to promote the new bill in the country’s cities.
New CBS News poll shows that the bill is widely popular with the public, with three out of four Americans approving of its passage. Two-thirds of Americans also say Mr. Biden is doing a good job in his handling of the pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan provides $ 1,400 in direct payments to people earning up to $ 75,000 a year, $ 350 billion in state and local government grants and $ 14 billion for vaccine distribution. The bill also provides $ 130 billion to elementary, middle and high schools to help secure reopening.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the first wave of direct deposit checks would begin hitting Americans’ bank accounts as soon as this weekend.
It includes an additional $ 300 billion in weekly unemployment benefits through September and an expanded tax credit of up to $ 3,600 per child, initially distributed in monthly installments. According to an analysis by the Center for Budgeting and Priority Policies, the child tax credit could lift 4 million children out of poverty.
More than $ 50 billion will be distributed to small businesses, including $ 7 billion for the Check Payment Protection Program. The bill also provides $ 25 billion in aid to small and medium-sized restaurants, which have suffered significantly during the pandemic.
The measure expands the requirements for obtaining grants to purchase health insurance for people of all incomes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a provision that is especially controversial for Republicans who oppose the bill. It also encourages states to expand Medicaid under the ACA by getting the federal government to pay for new recipients. Several million people could save hundreds of dollars in health care costs once the bill becomes law.