WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden on Monday began the White House’s effort to highlight the benefits of its huge COVID relief plan, saying “hope is here in real and tangible ways.” his administration began to spread new spending across the country.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and his spouses have embarked this week on an ambitious tour across the country to promote the $ 1.9 trillion plan as a way to fight the coronavirus and boost the economy. The road show, called the “Help is here” tour of the White House, began Monday with Harris heading to a vaccination site against COVID-19 and a culinary academy in Las Vegas and first lady Jill Biden touring a school New Jersey Primary.
The president will hit the road later in the week – Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Georgia with Harris on Friday – but stayed at the White House on Monday to say the bill will help put “arms and money in his pockets.” it ‘s important. “
Hours earlier, Air Force Two left Andrews Joint Base and headed west toward Nevada, and Harris will also make a stop the next day in Denver to meet with small business owners. Wednesday sees Jill Biden in Concord, New Hampshire, and Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Stops at vaccination sites, businesses, schools and more are meant to educate the public about different aspects of the giant American Rescue Plan and how the administration says it will help people get to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden has said the administration of President Barack Obama, in which Biden was vice president, did not properly educate the public about the benefits of its economic recovery plan. The president wants to do a better job of sales this time around the details of his first big legislative victory, and he started last week with renowned speeches, one in prime time and the other from the rose garden.
Biden has chosen Gene Sperling, a former Democratic economic policy expert, to oversee the massive stimulus package, the role he himself played in the 2009 economic bailout package, to lead efforts “to keep up of every dollar spent “.
“I learned from my experience applying the law of recovery of the importance of having someone who can handle all the moving parts with efficiency, speed, integrity and accountability,” the president said.
Biden said Monday that in the next 10 days, his administration will erase two important benchmarks: distributing 100 million stimulus payments and administering 100 million doses of vaccine since he took office.
Key features of the plan include direct payments of $ 1,400 for most single taxpayers, or $ 2,800 for married couples filing together, plus $ 1,400 per dependent, for a total of $ 5,600 for a married couple with two children. Payments are phased out for those with higher incomes.
An extension of federal unemployment benefits will continue through Sept. 6 at $ 300 a week. There are $ 350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, $ 130 billion for K-12 schools and about $ 50 billion to expand COVID-19 testing, among other provisions.
Restaurants and bars that were forced to close or limit service could take advantage of a new multibillion-dollar grant program and the plan also has tens of billions of dollars to help people who have been left behind in rent and mortgage payments .
The bill cleared Congress without any support from Republicans, despite polls finding widespread public support. Republicans argued that the bill was too expensive and included too many provisions that were not directly related to the virus.
The “Help is here” tour is taking Harris on his first national trip as vice president. Her husband, the nation’s first “second gentleman,” was breaking up for separate events in Las Vegas on Monday and New Mexico on Wednesday.
Since taking office, Harris has presided over the swearing-in ceremonies of members of Biden’s cabinet. He has been alongside the president in his speeches, made his own comments, spoken by telephone with several world leaders and made appearances in the Washington area, including the funeral services of Washington power corridor Vernon Jordan.
Harris also cast three 50-50 tiebreaker votes in the Senate in her role as Senate president.
The White House has detailed a topic for each day, focusing on small businesses, schools, evictions and direct controls. Jill Biden was joined by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on a tour Monday at Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, where he spoke about how the plan will help families and communities and highlighted the steps that the school did to reopen.
But his journey revealed the challenges of the future: in one classroom he visited, only two students attended to learn in person, while the other 17 were virtual. Biden sat at a computer to greet the remote students.
“I love being here again at a school: educators, parents and students, the whole school has come together to get the kids back into the classroom,” he said. “But even with your best efforts, students can’t come, they can’t come in every day, which means their parents still have to take time off work or figure out daycare solutions. And this school like schools across the country can’t reopen completely without help. “
Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer, has also made some appearances in the Washington area between his teaching time at Georgetown Law School. He planned to visit a food aid organization in Las Vegas on Monday and participate in a listening session with the organization’s partners.
In addition to the president, vice president and their spouses, cabinet secretaries will also be on tour. Hundreds of mayors and governors, including Republicans, are lining up for interviews to discuss what the plan means for their communities.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the first to tour a UPS distribution center in Landover, Maryland on Monday, which also offers vaccines in the Washington area.
___
Superville reported from Las Vegas. Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report.