March 11, 2021

Casten Statement after President Biden Signs American Rescue Plan into Law:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement after President Biden signed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act, into law. The landmark, life-saving legislation will provide urgently needed resources to defeat this virus, get vaccines in people's arms, money in families' pockets, children safely back into classrooms, and put people back to work. The package will provide $13.7 billion for Illinois in state and local funding—including $998.86 million for Cook county, $178.99 million for DuPage county, $135.09 million for Lake county, $103.26 million for Kane county, and $59.69 million for McHenry County to provide the essential public services every citizen depends on.

Economists agree that this targeted, evidence-based action is needed – for workers, for families and for the American economy. These steps, together, will generate $1.25 for every $1 of spending, will cut child poverty in half, and lift nearly 12 million people out of poverty.

Casten said, "For the one in eight Americans going to bed hungry tonight and the 40 million who fear they might be evicted tomorrow, the 60 million out of work, 45% of small businesses at risk of closing and never coming back, to the 2.3 million women who've left the workforce, and the one million mothers forced to choose between taking care of their families and keeping their jobs, we've provided direct payments, nutrition and housing assistance, expanded access to affordable childcare and health care, delivered crucial support for the hardest hit small businesses, and provided monthly support for 93% of children and their families with a historic expansion of the child tax credit."

"For the 1.4 million public sector employees who've been laid off without protection and the communities on the brink of collapse, the American Rescue Plan will provide desperately needed funding to get our firefighters, teachers, frontline public health workers, first responders and others who serve our communities back to work providing the essential public services every citizen depends on, including $13.7 billion for Illinois so that we can get folks vaccinated faster, get our kids back in school quicker, small businesses back to bustling sooner, and our economy back up and running in one year instead of four."

"We can't bring back the 524,000 precious American lives lost to COVID, but the American Rescue Plan will honor their memory by crushing this virus and making things a little easier for their loved ones. We'll get their kids back in school, their family businesses back in the black, cut child poverty in half, create four million more jobs, and we'll emerge from this crisis with an economy that's stronger, more equitable and poised for growth for years to come."

Earlier this week, Rep. Casten spoke on the House floor about what the American Rescue Plan will mean for the tens of millions families struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on their kitchen tables, for the families of Americans killed by the virus, and for communities across Illinois who've suffered without adequate federal support. To watch his remarks, click here or on the image below.

Last month, Casten hosted a town hall featuring a bipartisan panel of municipal leaders and local mayors to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local government budgets and the dire need for Congress to pass funding sufficient to ensure states and localities can continue providing essential services for Illinoisans.


Direct Payments to Working Families & Expanding Child Tax Credit

INCREASING THE DIRECT PAYMENTS TO WORKING FAMILIES

  • Providing Working Families an Additional Direct Payment of $1,400 Per Person – Bringing the Total Relief Payment to $2,000 Per Person: In December, Congress enacted a Covid relief package that provided a direct payment of $600 per person. The American Rescue Plan Act builds on that down payment, providing another $1,400 per person.
  • Providing That Those Individuals Who Received the Full $600 Down Payment in December Will Receive the Full $1,400 Payment Now, Keeping President Biden's Promise of a Total Relief Payment of $2,000: The bill uses the same income threshold as the December legislation to determine which individuals receive the full $1,400 payment, before the phase-out begins. Under the bill, 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.
  • At the Same Time, Better Targeting the Direct Payments Overall to Those Who Need Aid, With, For Example, The Direct Payment Completely Phased Out For Joint Filers with Incomes Of $200,000 And Above: House Democrats acted to ensure that the direct payments are better targeted to those who need assistance than the December legislation, significantly changing the phase-out schedule that was in that legislation. Under this bill, House Democrats ensured that the direct payment is completely phased out for single filers making $100,000, head of household filers making $150,000, and joint filers making $200,000.

EXPANDING CHILD TAX CREDIT, THEREBY CUTTING CHILD POVERTY IN HALF

  • Making the Child Tax Credit Fully Refundable and Increasing Its Size for 2021: The bill makes the child tax credit fully refundable for 2021 and increases the annual amount from the current $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for a child under age 6). Currently, because the child tax credit is not fully refundable, there are 27 million American children who do not receive the full value of the current $2,000 tax credit because their parents do not earn enough money.
  • Directing the Secretary of the Treasury to Issue Advance Payments of the Child Tax Credit: The bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue advance payments of the child tax credit, based on the parents' 2019 or 2020 tax returns. Under the bill, parents could receive regular periodic monthly advance payment of the tax credit to ensure families have access to assistance throughout the year, rather than just at tax time. The advance payments would begin on July 1, 2021.
  • Phasing Out the Advance Payments for Upper-Income Households: Those receiving the full advance payment of the child tax credit would be single filers earning up to $75,000, head of household filers earning up to $112,500, and joint filers earning up to $150,000. Above these thresholds, the advance payments are phased down.
  • Experts Estimate This Policy Would Cut the Child Poverty Rate in Half: A study by Columbia University found that such a proposal would cut the child poverty rate in the United States in half.

Aggressive Action to Speed Up COVID-19 Vaccinations and Contain the Virus

ENDING THE PANDEMIC BY ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM AND INCREASING VACCINATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

  • Providing Over $20 Billion to Establish A National COVID-19 Vaccination Program and Improve the Administration and Distribution of Vaccinations, Including:
  • Providing $7.5 billion for the CDC to prepare, promote, distribute, monitor, and track COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Providing $7.5 billion for FEMA to establish vaccination sites across the country.
  • Providing $600 million to be directed to the Indian Health Service for vaccine-related activities.
  • Providing $5.2 billion to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support advanced research, development, manufacturing, production, and purchase of vaccines, therapeutics, and ancillary medical products for COVID-19.
  • Providing $1 billion for the CDC to undertake a vaccine awareness and engagement campaign.

SCALING UP COVID-19 TESTING, CONTACT TRACING, AND MITIGATION, IN ORDER TO STOP THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS

  • Providing $49 Billion to Expand Testing, Contact Tracing, and Mitigation and Related Activities, Including:
    • Providing $47.8 billion for testing, contact tracing, and mitigation. These activities include implementing a national strategy for testing, contact tracing, surveillance, and mitigation; and the manufacturing, procurement, distribution, and administration of tests, including personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies necessary for administration of the tests. Additionally, these funds can be used to help mitigate COVID-19 in congregate settings by improving infection control and providing needed supplies.
    • Funding the Defense Production Act to close the gap in domestic manufacturing to fulfill U.S. public health needs. Specifically, the bill provides $10 billion to boost domestic production of critical PPE, secure supply chains and increased capacity for vital vaccine production and to help onshore production of rapid COVID-19 tests.
    • Providing $1.5 billion to be directed to the Indian Health Service (HIS) for meeting IHS's testing, tracing, and mitigation needs.
    • Providing $1.75 billion for genomic surveillance so that the U.S. can begin to adequately detect and respond to emerging and potentially more dangerous strains of SARS-COV-2 throughout the world. This infrastructure will also be critical to responding to future viral outbreaks.
    • Providing $500 million to allow CDC to establish, expand, and maintain data surveillance and analytics, including to modernize the United States' disease warning system to forecast and track hotspots for COVID-19.

Providing the Resources Needed to Allow Schools to Safely Re-Open

PROVIDING RESOURCES FOR OUR SCHOOLS

  • Providing Nearly $130 billion to Help K-12 Schools Re-Open Safely: This bill makes nearly $130 billion available to states and school districts for immediate and long-term relief so they can work with public health experts to safely re-open schools and make up for lost time in the classroom. This includes:
    • Repairing ventilation systems, reducing class sizes and implementing social distancing guidelines, purchasing personal protective equipment, and hiring support staff to care for students' health and well-being.
    • Ensures 20 percent of the funding that schools receive must be reserved to address and remediate learning loss among students.
  • Includes Funding to Support Colleges and Universities: This bill includes nearly $40 billion for institutions of higher education to help make up for lost revenue due to the pandemic. Requires institutions to dedicate at least half of their funding for emergency financial aid grants to students to help prevent hunger, homelessness and other hardships facing students as a result of the pandemic.
  • Broadband: Helping to Bridge the Digital Divide By Providing $7.6 Billion to Expand Internet Connectivity to Students and Communities, Including by:
    • Reimbursing schools and libraries – central points for connectivity in many communities – to purchase equipment such as hotspots, internet service, and computers on behalf of students and patrons. This equipment is essential for homework when in-person classes resume, as well as for hybrid and remote learning.
    • Ensuring schools and libraries can quickly access this critical funding by relying on the Federal Communications Commission and its E-rate program to administer the funds equitably.

Immediate Economic Relief for Americans Hit Hardest

EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

  • Currently, Federal Unemployment Benefits Expire on March 14: Specifically, the federal supplemental unemployment benefit (FPUC), the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA) program (which provides unemployment benefits to some self-employed and pandemic-affected individuals who do not qualify for regular state unemployment benefits), and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensations (PEUC) program (which provides additional weeks for beneficiaries who have exhausted their normal benefits) expire on March 14.
  • Extending and Increasing the Federal Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (FPUC): The bill extends the federal supplemental unemployment benefit through August 29 and increases the monthly supplemental benefit from the current $300 per month to $400 per month.
  • Extending the Critical Pandemic UI Programs: The bill also extends both the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program through August 29.

EXPANDING HEALTH COVERAGE AND LOWERING AMERICANS' HEALTH CARE COSTS

  • Expanding Subsidies in ACA Marketplaces: The bill significantly expands the subsidies in the ACA Marketplaces to cover more middle class families and to be more generous for those already receiving them, for 2021 and 2022. Specifically, it removes the current cap that makes any family with income above 400% of the poverty level ineligible for any subsidies. Under the bill, no one will have to pay more than 8.5 percent of their income for a silver plan in the ACA marketplaces. It also provides that individuals below 150% of the poverty level pay no premiums at all compared to 4% of their income currently. The Urban Institute estimates that these provisions could lead to 4.5 million more Americans gaining coverage.
  • ACA Subsidies for Those on Unemployment: The bill provides that any individual who receives unemployment at any point in 2021 is treated as if their income were 133% of the poverty level for the purposes of the ACA marketplace subsidy. As a result, they can purchase an ACA silver plan for zero premium.
  • New Incentives for Medicaid Expansion: The bill provides a new incentive for the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid to do so by temporarily increasing the base Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) by five percentage points for two years for any state that newly expands. If all 12 remaining states expanded Medicaid, more than 2 million uninsured people would gain access to Medicaid.
  • COBRA Subsidies: Provides an 85% subsidy for individuals who lose their job and choose to use COBRA to continue their existing employer-sponsored health coverage through September 30, 2021. Currently, those who would like to choose COBRA are required to pay the full cost of their coverage, including the employer contribution, making the cost prohibitive and preventing many from doing so.

HOUSING ASSISTANCE

  • Provides $26 Billion for Emergency Rental Assistance, to Help Ensure Struggling Families Continue to Have a Safe Place to Live During This Pandemic: The bill provides $26 billion in rental assistance: $21.2 billion for emergency rental and utility assistance to states, territories, counties, and cities to help stabilize renters during the pandemic, and help rental property owners of all sizes continue to cover their costs; $5 billion for emergency vouchers to transition those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, and victims of human trafficking to stable housing; $100 million for rural housing; $750 million for Native American housing; $100 million for housing counseling; and $20 million for fair housing.
  • Provides $10 Billion to Help Homeowners Struggling to Afford Their Housing as a Result of the Coronavirus Pandemic: The bill provides $10 billion for the Homeowner Assistance Fund that allocates funds to states, territories, and tribes to address the ongoing needs of homeowners struggling to afford their housing due directly or indirectly to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing direct assistance with mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, utilities, and other housing related costs.
  • Supports Solutions for Americans Experiencing Homelessness: The bill provides $4.75 billion for state and local governments – through the HOME Investment Partnership program – to finance supportive services, affordable housing and the acquisition of non-congregate shelter spaces for the hundreds of thousands of Americans experiencing homelessness during this pandemic.
  • Provides $5 Billion to Those Most in Need to Help Pay Their Utility Bills, Including by:
    • Providing $4.5 billion to HHS for home energy assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
    • Providing $500 million in additional funds for HHS for the Low-Income Household Drinking Water and Wastewater Emergency Assistance Program established by Congress at the end of 2020. This brings the total amount of money available to assist families with their water and sewer bills to over $1.1 billion.

FOOD SECURITY

  • Makes Key Investments in Food Security: In response to persistent hunger in communities across the country, this bill helps combat increasing food insecurity with key investments in SNAP, WIC, Pandemic EBT and other critical nutrition assistance, including:
    • Extends SNAP maximum benefits by 15 percent (through September 30, 2021);
    • Provides $1.1 billion in additional SNAP administrative funds to states to help meet the demand of increased caseloads and $25 million to improve the state SNAP online pilots; and
    • Allocates $800 million for WIC – supporting low-income women and infants – and temporarily boosts the value of WIC Cash Value Vouchers for vulnerable mothers and their children; and
    • Secures $37 million to cover food shortfalls in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program which seeks to improve the health and nutrition of low-income Americans over 60 years old through access to nutritious food.
  • Maintains and Expands the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) Program: The bill invests more than $5 billion in P-EBT so that low-income families have access to school meals and food assistance during both the school year and summer months.
  • Expands Access to the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): The bill temporarily expands the age of eligibility for CACFP at emergency homeless shelters to ensure more young adults can access needed nutrition support.

ENSURING ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING FOR FAMILIES

  • Rescues the Child Care System from the Brink of Collapse: The bill provides $39 billion through the Child Care and Development Block Grant for child care providers as the country reopens and provides financial relief for families struggling to cover tuition.
  • Makes a Number of Improvements in the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, for 2021: The bill makes several improvements to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for 2021, including increasing the amount of child and dependent care expenses that are eligible for the credit to $8,000 for one qualifying individual and $16,000 for two or more qualifying individuals (such that the maximum credits would now be $4,000 and $8,000).
  • Increases the Annual Funding Level for the Child Care Entitlement to States. The bill increases the annual funding level for the Child Care Entitlement to States, from $3.525 billion per year to $3.550 billion per year.
  • Includes Critical Funding for Head Start: The bill provides $1 billion for Head Start to equip facilities with the resources to safely stay open, buy PPE, technology and hire more staff and ensure families can continue to access quality early learning opportunities.

PROVIDING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)

  • Providing An Additional $1 Billion for TANF: The bill provides an additional $1 billion for states to cover the additional cash assistance that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients needed as a result of the economic crisis.

CREATING PANDEMIC EMERGENCY FUND TO HELP LOW-INCOME FAMLIES WITH CHILDREN

  • Creating A $1 Billion Pandemic Emergency Fund: The bill establishes a $1 billion Pandemic Emergency Fund, with the fund to be distributed to the states for providing emergency assistance to low-income families with children.

IMPROVING PENSION SECURITY

  • Stabilizing Multiemployer Pension Plans: The economic crisis caused by the pandemic has undermined many pension plans. The bill stabilizes Multiemployer Pension Plans by creating a special financial assistance program under which cash payments would be made by the PBGC to financially troubled Multiemployer Pension Plans to ensure the plans can continue paying retirees' benefits, thereby protecting retirees who worked for decades to earn their benefits.
  • Stabilizing Single Employer Pension Plans: The bill also provides single employer pension plans with certain pension funding relief.

EXTENDING AND IMPROVING VARIOUS OTHER TAX CREDITS

  • Making A Number of Improvements to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, for 2021: The bill makes several improvements to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for 2021, including increasing the amount of child and dependent care expenses that are eligible for the credit to $8,000 for one qualifying individual and $16,000 for two or more qualifying individuals (such that the maximum credits would now be $4,000 and $8,000).
  • Strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit for Childless Adults, for 2021: The bill raises the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit for childless adults from roughly $530 to close to $1,500, raises the income limit for the credit from about $16,000 to about $21,000, and eliminates the age cap for older workers, for 2021. This step will benefit 15 million low-income workers like cashiers and delivery drivers.
  • Extending Employee Retention Credit: The bill extends through December 31, 2021, the Employee Retention Credit, created by the CARES Act, which expired on December 31, 2020.
  • Extending Payroll Tax Credits for Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family and Medical Leave: The bill extends, from March 31, 2021 to September 30, 2021, the payroll tax credit for employers created by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act for use to help employers defray the costs of the paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave required for employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic under that Act.

Support for Struggling Communities

SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS

  • Increases Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Funding and Expands Eligibility to Ensure It Reaches Nonprofits of All Sizes and Types: 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.
  • Creates a Restaurant Revitalization Fund: The bill provides $25 billion for a new program at SBA to offer assistance to restaurants and bars with 20 or fewer locations that have been hit hard by the pandemic. $5 billion is set aside specifically for smaller establishments with less than $500,000 in 2019 annual revenue. During the first 21 days, applications from restaurants owned and operated by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals will receive priority.
  • Supports Small Businesses By Providing $15 Billion for COVID-19 Emergency Grants Through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program: The bill includes an additional $15 billion for targeted EIDL Advances to help those who applied for relief in 2020 but did not receive the full $10,000 grant.
  • Establishes the Community Navigator pilot program: this program increases the awareness of and participation in COVID-19 relief programs for business owners currently lacking access, with priority for businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, women, and veterans
  • State Small Business Credit Initiative: provides $10 billion to support up to $100 billion in small business financing through state, territorial, and tribal government programs. Of this amount, $2.5 billion is dedicated for support to business enterprises owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, including minority-owned businesses.


PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AND OTHER ESSENTIAL WORKERS

  • Providing $350 billion For New Coronavirus Relief Funds To Help Keep First Responders, Frontline Health Care Workers, and Other Essential Workers on the Job: The bill provides $350 billion for new Coronavirus Relief Funds for states, localities, the U.S. Territories, and the Tribal Governments, to help keep critical workers on the job. These critical workers include frontline health care workers, police, firefighters, transit workers, teachers, EMS, and other vital workers who help keep us safe. Since the pandemic began, 1.4 million of these types of workers have lost their jobs, due to the tight budgets caused by the high expenses and reduced revenues created by the pandemic.
  • Requiring the Funds to Be Used to Address the Pandemic or Its Negative Economic Impacts. The bill provides that the funds are available until expended and must be used to address the pandemic or its negative economic impacts, including to replace revenue lost, delayed, or decreased as a result of the pandemic.
  • The $350 billion In Funding in the Bill Is Broken Down as Follows:
    • States: Providing $195.3 billion for the states.
    • Localities: Providing $130.2 billion for local governments. Under the bill, local governments of every size would receive dedicated allotments.
    • Tribal Governments: Providing $20 billion to federally recognized tribal governments.
    • U.S. Territories: Providing $4.5 billion for the U.S. Territories.


SUPPORTING VETERANS AND SERVICEMEMBERS

  • Makes Key Investments in Our Veterans Impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic:
    • Ensures veterans will not have any copays or cost-sharing for preventative treatment or services related to COVID-19 going back to April 2020 and authorizes the VA to reimburse those veterans who already submitted payments for their care during this period.
    • Includes more than $13 billion for VA to provide health care services and other related supports – including suicide prevention, Women's health services, telehealth expansion, medical facility improvements – to eligible veterans and allows up to $4 billion in spending for the Veterans Community Care Program.
    • Provides nearly $400 million for up to 12 months of retraining assistance for veterans who are unemployed as a result of the pandemic and do not have access to other veteran education benefits. This funding covers the cost of the rapid retraining program as well as a housing allowance for enrolled veterans.
    • Includes $272 million for the VA to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the benefits claims and appeals backlog.
    • Provides emergency paid sick leave for VA's frontline and essential health workers.

FEMA/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  • FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund: The bill includes $50 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund for reimbursements to state, local, Tribal and territorial governments dealing with ongoing response and recovery activities from the coronavirus pandemic. This funding could be used for vaccination efforts, National Guard deployments, providing PPE to frontline workers, and other FEMA resources and activities necessary to assist communities with the pandemic.
  • Economic Development Administration: This bill provides $3 billion for the Economic Development Administration to provide support for communities and industries that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

IMPROVING WORKER SAFETY & WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE

  • Strengthens Workplace Protections for Essential Workers: The bill provides the Department of Labor $150 million to implement COVID-19 worker protection programs and continued UI oversight – including at least $75 million for OSHA enforcement.
  • Ensures Workers' Compensation Coverage for Frontline Maritime and Federal Workers: Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 is work-related and authorizes eligibility for medical benefits, lost wages and survivor benefits for longshore and shipyard workers as well as federal and postal workers.

SUPPORTING TRANSIT/AIRLINE INDUSTRY & WORKERS

  • Invests in Our Nation's Transit Systems Hard Hit by the Coronavirus Pandemic: Transit ridership plummeted 79 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill includes $30 billion for transit agencies across the country to prevent, prepare and respond to the continued threat of the pandemic.
  • Keeps Amtrak Fully Operational: This bill includes $1.5 billion to keep Amtrak fully operational through the end of FY 2021, ending worker furloughs and restoring full service. This includes $820 million for the Northeast Corridor and $680 million for the National Network.
  • Provides Emergency Assistance to Airports and Helps Protect Aviation Industry Jobs: This bill includes:
    • $8 billion to support airports across the country as well as airport concessions and their employees.
    • $15 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program through September 30, 2021 stopping furloughs and layoffs for workers employed by airlines, cargo air carriers and contractors servicing air carriers at airports.
    • $3 billion in temporary payroll support for U.S. aerospace manufacturing companies to help cover the wages, salaries and benefits of manufacturing employees most at risk of being furloughed or laid off as a result of the pandemic.


PROVIDING CERTAINTY FOR FARM COMMUNITIES, GROWERS, AND PRODUCERS

  • Strengthens the Food Supply Chains: Provides $3.6 billion for USDA to:
    • Increases food donations with commodity purchases from farmers for distribution to food banks, nonprofits, or restaurants, to help feed families and support farmers' bottom lines
    • Improves worker safety with resources for food and agriculture businesses to purchase personal protective equipment, test kits, and other measures that keep essential food workers safe
    • Invests in infrastructure that supports food processors, farmers markets, and producers to build resiliency in the food supply in the long term.
  • Provides Debt Relief for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers: This bill provides $4 billion in USDA farm loan assistance to help farmers and ranchers of color who have faced discrimination for decades and to help them respond to the economic impacts of the pandemic.
  • Includes Funding to Support Farmers of Color: This bill includes $1 billion in assistance and support for community-based organizations and 1890 Land Grant and other minority-serving institutions that work with farmers of color on land access, financial training, property issues, and training the next generation of farmers, ranchers and forest land owners and operators.
  • Relief for Rural America's health needs: This bill provides $500 million in USDA rural initiatives to help hospitals expand vaccine distribution, purchase needed medical supplies, bolsters telehealth capacity and helps hospitals facing lost revenue and high costs.

SUPPORTING TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS' RESPONSE TO COVID-19

  • Guarantees Funding to Assist Tribal Governments: This bill includes $20 billion in direct relief to federally recognized tribal governments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce health inequities, and improve economic opportunities.
  • Helps the Indian Health Service Meet Pandemic Health Needs and Address Disparities: This bill includes more than $6 billion for the Indian Health Service, with a focus on equitable and urgent access to vaccines, testing, tracing, and mental health resources.
  • Invests in Native American Education and Language Preservation: This bill includes $850 million for grants to Bureau of Indian Education-operated elementary and secondary schools as well as Tribal Colleges and Universities. In addition, $10 million is allocated for emergency grants to support Native American language preservation to ensure elders can continue preserving the vitality of their sacred and diminishing languages during and after the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Provides $900 Million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): The bill provides $900 million for essential tribal government services, tribal housing, child welfare assistance, public safety, potable water, and more.
  • Funds Housing Assistance and Supportive Services for Native Americans: This bill includes $750 million to support the Indian Housing Block Grant and Indian Community Development Block Grant.
  • Provides Business Supports: This bill provides emergency grants, lending, and investments to eligible tribally-owned businesses, with an additional $500 million tribal set-aside within the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).

Other Provisions

OTHER CRITICAL HEALTH-RELATED PROVISIONS

  • Providing $27 Billion for Addressing Health Disparities: The bill provides a total of $27 billion for addressing health disparities and protecting vulnerable populations, including:
  • Providing $7.6 billion in funding to support COVID-19 response at Community Health Centers.
  • Providing an additional $3.5 billion for the Indian Health Service.
  • Providing $800 million to the National Health Service Corps to support primary care health care clinicians in high-need areas.
  • Providing $240 million to support the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, which helps support nurses working in critical shortage and underserved areas.
  • Providing $330 million for Teaching Health Centers that train the medical professionals who serve our most vulnerable populations.
  • Providing $4 Billion for Expanding Behavioral and Mental Health Services: The bill provides a total of $4 billion to expand behavioral and mental health services, including:
  • Providing $3.5 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) to be split between the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Community Mental Health block grant programs.
  • Providing $120 million to be made available to the Indian Health Service for mental and behavioral health prevention and treatment programs.
  • Providing $280 million for programs that support mental and behavioral health and prevent burnout among health care providers and public safety officers.
  • Mobilizing A Public Health Jobs Program to Support the COVID-19 Response: The bill provides additional funding to expand the public health workforce, including:
  • Providing $7.6 billion in funding to public health departments to hire 100,000 additional full-time employees into the public health workforce.
  • Providing $240 million for meeting the public health workforce needs of the Indian Health Service.
  • Providing $100 million to support the Medical Reserve Corps, which consists of a network of volunteer medical and public health professionals that support emergency response efforts and community health activities.
  • Helping Skilled Nursing Facilities Better Cope with COVID-19: The bill takes steps to help skilled nursing facilities better cope with the challenges posed by COVID-19, including:
  • Providing $500 million to deploy strike teams to help nursing home facilities manage outbreaks of COVID-19 when they occur.
  • Providing $200 million to the Secretary of HHS for the purpose of carrying out infection control support related to COVID-19 in skilled nursing facilities through quality improvement organizations.
  • Addressing the Global COVID-19 Pandemic, With Assistance: The bill addresses the global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, including by:
  • Providing $8.7 billion for Global Health Funding for both bilateral and multilateral efforts to directly combat the virus and slow the threat of mutations by addressing immediate needs such as vaccine development, delivery, and distribution, and supporting health systems.
  • Providing $580 million for the United Nations Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19.
  • Providing $800 million for the Food for Peace program.

PROMOTING COVID-19 RELATED RESEARCH

  • Providing A Total of $750 Million for COVID-Related Research, Including:
  • Providing $150 million for COVID-19 related research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  • Providing $600 million for COVID-19 related research at the National Science Foundation.

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