What’s in the American Rescue Plan for you and your family 

Here’s some of the tools to help us to recover our health, our schools and our economy: 

COVID Vaccinations — we’re over 200 million  doses already

The ARP invests about $160 billion to manufacture and provide the vaccines, supplies, testing, and public health workforce to stop the spread of  COVID-19 while distributing vaccines as quickly as possible to states, counties, pharmacies,  community health centers and mobile vaccinators as we continue to address racial disparities in  COVID-19 outcomes. As of April 19 — all Oregonians 16+ will be eligible to receive a vaccine. Find an  appointment https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov/ 

Safely re-open schools

Provide $130 billion to help schools serve all students, no matter where they are learning, to safely open schools and keep them open. 

These investments include set-asides at the local and state level to ensure states and districts address the learning loss and social and emotional needs of students disproportionately impacted by  COVID-19, including students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities.  

Immediate relief to American families. Direct payment of a $1,400 per-person, bringing  total per-person relief payment from this and the  December down payment to $2,000. 

Extend current unemployment insurance benefits and eligibility to September 6, with a $300 per week supplement so 18 million American workers can pay their bills. Also the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 will be tax-free. 

Help Americans stay in their homes. The pandemic has left 1 in 5 renters and millions of homeowners behind. Through states and local governments, ARP provides emergency rental assistance to cover back rent. And funds to help struggling homeowners catch up with their mortgage payments and utility costs through the  Homeowners Assistance Fund. And, it provides additional funding for families and individuals who are recovering from or at risk of homelessness. Oregon will be distributing funds at www.oregon.gov/ohcs/. Multnomah County residents will be able to access through calling 211. 

Keep food on the table

The American Rescue Plan will increase SNAP  nutrition assistance benefits by 15 percent  through September 2021. It increases Seniors’  and Women and Children’s assistance. Protects  food worker safety and support for farmers of  color. The bill also funds partnerships with  restaurants to feed American families and keep  workers in the restaurant industry on the job.  

Cut childhood poverty by half

Increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for a child under age 6). This means a typical family of four with two young children will receive an additional  $3,200 in assistance to help cover costs associated with raising children. The families of more than 66 million kids will benefit beginning this summer, with advance payments arriving as a monthly check. If you’re welcoming a new baby this year — look for the new IRS portal soon that allows you to receive your full benefit. 

Protect our Health Care

Lower or eliminate health insurance premiums for millions of lower and middle-income families enrolled in health insurance marketplaces. A family of four making $90,000 could see their monthly premium come down by $200 per month. The plan also subsidizes premiums for continuation health coverage (COBRA) for workers who had insurance through their jobs. 

Support resurgence of Small Business. Since the beginning of this pandemic, 400,000  small businesses have closed and millions more are hanging by a thread. ARP provides emergency grants, lending, and investment to hard-hit small businesses so they can rehire and retain workers and purchase the health and sanitation equipment they need to keep workers safe. This includes a  Small Business Opportunity Fund to provide growth capital to Main Street small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas, including minority-owned businesses. And extending the  Employee Retention Credit for small businesses  through December 2021 

Provide $28 billion for a new grant program  to support hard-hit small restaurants and  other food and drinking establishments. Grants can be used for payroll costs, mortgage,  rent, utilities, new outdoor seating construction,  PPE and cleaning materials, inventory, paid sick  leave, etc This could be a lifeline for many of our  friends and neighbors. Find the details for this RRF  Grant and other SBA support www.sba.gov.  Special thanks to Congressman Earl Blumenauer  for championing this program. 

Sustaining our Arts Community

Grants for live venue operators, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, motion picture theatre operators, and talent representatives that are struggling. See Shuttered Venues at  www.sba.gov 

Distribute more than $360 billion in emergency  funding for state, local, territorial, and Tribal  governments to ensure that they are in a position  to keep public workers on the job and paid,  while also effectively distributing the vaccine,  scaling testing, reopening schools, and maintaining  other vital services. And help hard-hit public  transit agencies avoid layoffs and service  reductions, which disproportionately harm  workers who are more likely to be dependent on  public transportation.  

Keeping Fire, Police, front-line workers  on the job

American Rescue Plan Benefits Oregon 

• $2.758 billion in state fiscal relief 

• $1.5 billion in local fiscal relief 

• More than $1.1 billion in relief for K-12 schools 

• Economic impact payments of up to $1,400 per person (above the $600 per person provided in   December) for more than 2.7 million adults and   971,000 children. This is 86% of all adults in the state and 86% of all children in the state. 

• Additional relief of up to $1,600 per child through the Child Tax Credit to the families of 779,000 children, lifting 40,000 children out of poverty 

• Additional relief of up to nearly $1,000 through the Earned Income Tax Credit to 264,000 childless workers, including many in front-line jobs 

• Marketplace health insurance premiums that are $1325 lower per month for a 60-year old couple earning $75,000 per year 

Visit the White House website for more information https://www.whitehouse.gov/american-rescue-plan/ 

Thanks to our members of Congress for their advocacy and updates. 

Rep Earl Blumenauer, 

Rep Suzanne Bonamici, 

Sen Ron Wyden 

Sen Jeff Merkley