DeLauro Helps Pass American Rescue Plan to Provide Life-Saving Resources to Fight the Virus and Help Children and Families

Press Release

ouse Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released the following statement on the House passage of the American Rescue Plan, coronavirus relief legislation to end the spread of COVID-19 and provide direct relief to families and communities:

"This week, we marked the horrific milestone of 500,000 lives lost in the United States. With this rescue package, House Democrats are taking action--proving that we refuse to let another tragic milestone pass without additional aid to suffering communities and families. We are taking this step to get vaccinations to everyone, put money in people's pockets, help schools safely return to in-person learning, and give people opportunities to return to work.

"The American Rescue Plan will help beat the virus and safely reopen Connecticut's schools. The program mounts a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites across Connecticut and provides direct relief to schools and child care providers. We cannot expect parents to send their children to school, or teachers and school or child care staff to return to in-person learning if we cannot guarantee their safety. Additionally, this plan will help our state and local governments and municipalities recover from the impact of COVID-19 to keep first responders, front line health workers, and other providers of vital services on the job. The estimated $4.23 billion provided to Connecticut's state and local governments, specifically approximately $452 million for counties, cities, and towns in Connecticut's Third Congressional District, is long overdue and is necessary for Connecticut's ability to recover and build back better. This funding for our state and local governments is important to make sure middle class families do not face tax increases in the months ahead.

"As families continue to struggle to stay in their home, feed their families, and purchase necessities, this bill provides for hard-working Americans by including $1,400 direct payments, direct housing assistance, and nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans. Additionally, it lifts 50 percent of children out of poverty with the inclusion of legislation I have been fighting to pass since 2003, the expansion and improvement of the child tax credit.

"As the Biden-Harris Administration said from day one: this is not the only relief Americans will see. As we move closer to defeating the virus with this transformative package, we look to future relief to build the infrastructure for the future, including passing permanent paid family and medical leave and permanently expanding and improving the child tax credit."

Background

The American Rescue Plan includes emergency education and child care funding for Connecticut including an estimated, $277 million for Child Care, $6.7 million for Head Start, $1.17 billion for K-12 schools, $317 million for Higher Education.

This plan also includes critical funding for Connecticut's state and local governments and municipalities based on a modified Community Block Development Grant (CDBG) formula, including an estimated $2.7 billion for Connecticut's state government, $691 million for counties, $670 million for CDBG entitlement communities, and $191 million for non-entitlement communities. Specifically, counties and local governments in Connecticut's Third Congressional District would receive:

Middlesex County

$31,503,462

Durham

$707,421

New Haven County

$165,774,857

East Haven

$2,820,700

Hamden

$11,931,157

Guilford

$2,185,255

Middletown

$12,031,417

Middlefield

$431,858

Milford

$12,849,399

Naugatuck

$3,071,383

New Haven

$94,766,334

North Branford

$1,396,675

Stratford

$15,328,820

North Haven

$2,338,291

Waterbury

$55,820,838

Orange

$1,374,954

West Haven

$18,761,332

Prospect

$957,906

Ansonia

$1,841,763

Seymour

$1,622,872

Beacon Falls

$614,316

Shelton

$4,060,785

Bethany

$547,770

Wallingford

$4,376,434

Branford

$2,754,648

Woodbridge

$863,913

Derby

$1,218,265

CT-03 TOTAL

$451,952,825

Source