Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) voted to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, the emergency COVID-19 relief package that will provide assistance to North Carolina individuals, families, healthcare providers, and businesses. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
“During my first few months in Congress, I’m pleased my Senate and House colleagues came together to deliver real results for the millions of Americans across this country who have felt the dire consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congresswoman Ross. “This emergency package provides billions of dollars in additional funding for vaccines so that we can accelerate our current battle against COVID-19, bolsters critical programs like unemployment insurance and rental assistance, and allocates necessary funding to support restaurants and other small businesses.
“I’m also pleased the bill incentivizes states like North Carolina to expand Medicaid. In North Carolina, Medicaid expansion could cover over 600,000 low-income people. At a time when expanding health care coverage has never been more urgent, I thank my colleagues for adding this provision. Providing immediate relief shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and I look forward to seeing President Biden sign this bill into law so we can deliver on our promises.”
Congresswoman Ross spoke on Medicaid expansion on the House floor. Remarks can be found here.
BACKGROUND
The American Rescue Plan Act includes many priorities for North Carolinians — such as additional funding for COVID-19 vaccination and testing efforts, new loans for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), extended unemployment insurance, continued rental assistance, and direct payments to individuals and families.
Highlights of the bill include:
- Strengthening funding for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing. The bill provides over $20 billion to establish a national COVID-19 vaccination program and improve the administration and distribution of vaccines, as well as $47.8 billion for testing, contact tracing, and mitigation.
- Supporting North Carolina small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and creating new supports for restaurants and bars. The bill includes $7.25 billion in additional funding for PPP and expands eligibility of 501(c) nonprofits of all sizes and types, except for 501(c)4 lobbying organizations. It creates a nearly $29 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund to offer assistance to restaurants and bars hard hit by the pandemic.
- Delivering additional help for working families. The bill provides working families with an additional direct payment of up to $1,400 per person – bringing the total relief payment to $2,000 per person. Single filers with incomes up to $75,000, head of household filers with incomes up to $112,500, and joint filers with incomes up to $150,000 will receive the full payment of $1,400.
Additionally, the legislation:
- Extends and expands unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills;
- Provides nearly $130 billion to help K-12 schools reopen safely;
- Provides housing assistance and nutrition assistance to struggling Americans;
- Expands access to safe and reliable childcare;
- Bolsters affordable healthcare;
- Supports 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and 15 million low-wage childless workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit; and more.
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