Congresswoman Bustos applauds passage of American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON DC – Congresswoman Cheri Bustos applauded President Joe Biden signing the American Rescue Plan into law Thursday, a day after the U.S. House passed the measure.

“The American Rescue Plan is just what the doctor ordered – vaccine shots in arms, money in taxpayers’ pockets, our children back in schools and Americans back to work. This is an opportunity to deliver the help the American people need to defeat the COVID-19 virus and build our economy – our nation – back better, and I’m thrilled to see President Joe Biden sign it into law today,” Bustos said.

The plan includes an estimated $7.4 billion in help to be delivered to Illinois, with $399,450,000 of that funding reaching the 14 counties across Illinois’ 17th Congressional District to support cities, towns and counties in need.

Economists estimate the American Rescue Plan will cut child poverty in half and lift nearly 12 million people out of poverty.

“For too long, our nation has been navigating a global pandemic that has devastated our way of life. Now, the American Rescue Plan will be our guiding light as we emerge from this dark winter. From delivering nearly $400 million to our region’s towns and cities to help keep city services strong, to replenishing, strengthening and expanding the Paycheck Protection Program, to a historic child tax credit and financial help that will cut child poverty in half and ensure nearly 23,000 children in our corner of Illinois will lead better and healthier lives, this package is what we need to finally begin to recover.

“I want to thank President Biden for wasting no time in signing this critical package into law. I was proud to cast my vote in favor of the American Rescue Plan this week and thanks to President Biden’s leadership, help is here.”

There will be $7.25 billion for Paycheck Protection Program funding and expanded eligibility for the program. As of last month, 10,005 small business have applied for PPP loans, and $613,172,281 has been disbursed to support 84,912 jobs in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District.

 It allocates $122 billion to help K-12 schools safely reopen and return to the classroom. In Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, approximately 113,000 K-12 students are participating in a blend of learning virtually and in-person.

It will bring $39 billion for child care providers through the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program. Since February of last year, more than 2.3 million women have left the U.S. workforce and women account for 80 percent of all workers who left the workforce last month.

There will also be $16 billion for the United States Department of Agriculture, including nearly $4 billion for commodity purchases that will be distributed to those in need by way of restaurants and nonprofits like the Northern Illinois Food Bank, River Bend Food Bank and Peoria Area Food Bank.