American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his extraordinary leadership in putting nearly a trillion dollars into the pockets of the American people. I thank him and Mr. Yarmuth, the chair of the Budget Committee, for their leadership on this legislation and, of course, on this debate this afternoon. It was dazzling to see them and the Democratic chairs and Members speak up about this important legislation.
I thank the chairman for pointing out the inconsistency on the part of our colleagues across the aisle in complaining about money helping the poorest of poor children in our country while they didn't hesitate to give large amounts of money to the richest people in America in their Republican tax scam. The chairman's charts were very eloquent.
Mr. Speaker, to hear our Members speak about the terms of this bill, the values that are in it, the plan that it has, why they were voting ``yes'' on the bill, and to hear Republicans talk about why they would vote ``no,'' it is typical that they vote ``no'' and take the dough.
This bill has bipartisan support across the country, not only among the general public, but in mayors, selectmen, city councilpersons, and county executives--who are Republican--eagerly awaiting the passage of this bill because they know at their level what a difference it will make in the lives of their constituents, the American people.
Mr. Speaker, this is a critical moment in our country's history. Tomorrow, the world will mark 1 year since COVID-19 was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. At that time, just over 1,000 Americans had contracted the disease, and 38 had died.
Since that day 1 year ago from tomorrow, nearly 30 million Americans have become infected. Over half a million Americans have died, more lives than were lost in combat in all of America's wars against foreign enemies combined.
Each of those lives is precious to us. We feel each loss profoundly and pray for their families and for the families of those who have contracted the virus and are still affected by it. And through it all, a historic economic crisis has raged.
A full year later, 18 million Americans are still out of work, according to the statistics at the end of last week, and nearly 10 million jobs may have been lost. We hope to stop that.
The most vulnerable among us have been disproportionately affected: moms pushed out of the labor market, women and minority-owned businesses forced to shudder, communities of color facing rising disparities.
Mr. Speaker, today, we have a real opportunity for change. As we serve in Congress with each other, we learn about each other's districts, each other's priorities, and the rest. And we learn about each other's why. Why did you come to Congress? Why are you here?
Each of us has come to Congress with a purpose. My purpose, my why, are the children. As a mother of five raising my kids, seeing all the attention and all that they needed, I was horrified by the fact that one in five children in America lives in poverty and goes to sleep hungry in America at night.
That is my why. That is why I went from homemaker to the House of Representatives.
That is why when people ask me, ``What do you think the three most important issues are facing the Congress?'' I always say the same thing: Our children, our children, our children--their health; their education; the economic security of their families; a safe, healthy environment in which they can thrive; and a nation at peace in which they can reach their fulfillment.
Several of those priorities are addressed in this legislation.
Again, this legislation, which has bipartisan support throughout the country, the Biden--and let me sing praises on President Biden for the values, for the vision, the strategic thinking, for the knowledge that he has brought to what, as you said earlier, we had in the works for a while, but we freshened up by current events, the vaccine, and what those possibilities are.
The Biden American Rescue Plan is about the children, their health, their education, the economic security of their families, again. Our children's health is greatly protected by crushing the virus and by expanding access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act expansions in here, Medicaid through FMAP, and in other ways as well.
Our children's education is advanced with a $170 billion to open schools safely, including $130 billion for K-12. This funding will help address the social and emotional challenges that children face, as well as learning loss, as well as opening the schools safely. We know what that requires. It requires ventilation, space, more teachers, more space, to name a few things.
In terms of the economic security of children's families, this legislation, as I said earlier to Mr. Neal, puts nearly $1 trillion in the pockets of the American people. Republicans did not seem to object when they put that much money in the pockets of 83 percent of their tax scam into the top 1 percent, but they seem to have a discomfort level when it reaches the poorest of the poor and those in the middle class who are struggling. So this legislation does that.
It includes the refundable tax credit, which will lift 50 percent of children out of poverty.
How do you say ``no'' to lifting 50 percent of impoverished children in America out of poverty?
Children also benefit from the earned income tax credit, direct payments, and enhanced unemployment insurance benefits for their families. And the economic security of children is also enhanced by pension security of their grandparents, which is historically secured in this bill.
Sometimes I have young people come to my office--it is all about the children, it is all about the future--high school students, college students--and they talk about the security of their grandparents as important because, to the extent that their parents can focus on them rather than worry about the financial security of their grandparents, it is very important to the family across the board.
For the children, the American Rescue Plan also includes $12 billion in nutrition assistance to help the estimated 11 million children still going hungry.
When I talk about this with my family, I say to my kids: You know, the millions of children who are food insecure in our country, that is horrible.
They will say: Mom, just say it another way. They are hungry. They are hungry. Some of them get their food at school. They go to sleep hungry. If you call that food insecurity, okay, but understand this, these little children are hungry.
Again, $12 billion in nutrition assistance.
$43 billion in rental, homeowner, and other housing assistance so that children of families who are on the verge of eviction can have the comfort of knowing that that won't happen. They will have the comfort of home.
$45 billion of childcare to keep children learning and parents earning. That is always necessary, but even more so with the 2.3 million women losing their jobs, many of them moms.
Now, everything that I mentioned here is related to the coronavirus. We have hunger issues in our country bigger than even this. We have housing issues. We have childcare issues, and the rest. It is very important in our country. But this is coronavirus-centered.
Childcare, and I will say it again, $45 billion. Most of it is for childcare and a little bit of it is for Head Start. Children learning, parents earning. This is important and central to how families get through this coronavirus crisis.
All of these provisions in the bill are enhanced by strengthening the support for our heroes at the State and local level. Hence, our bill was called the Heroes Act. Much of that is contained in this legislation. Heroes, because our workers at the State, county, and local level, our healthcare workers, our first responders, police and fire, our sanitation, transportation, our food workers, our teachers-- our teachers, our teachers--make our lives possible, and make the existence of our children better.
Whatever we spend on education in this bill is a small percentage of what State and local government spend on education. More than 90 percent of it comes from the State and local. So in this legislation we are ensuring that State and local government keep them in their jobs as heroes, as we talked about, and will help fight the fiscal pressure that they have because of the cost of addressing the coronavirus crisis, as well as revenue lost because of shutdowns and the rest.
I was raised in a mayor's household as a daughter and sister of the mayor of Baltimore. The recognition of the role that local government plays is very important to me, local and State. But the local government is the first line of defense, and we are determined to fight any attempts to weaken what was in this legislation for local government.
One of the values respected in this legislation is our commitment to communities of color, including Native Americans, especially, who continue to face serious health and economic disparities. This legislation will, among other steps, address 8 in 10 minority- owned businesses on the brink of closure--8 in 10 minority-owned businesses.
The American Rescue Plan, Mr. Speaker, is a force for fairness and justice in America. This legislation is one of the most transformative and historic bills any of us will ever have the opportunity to support. It is one of the most transformative that I have seen in my over 30 years in the Congress. It is as consequential as the Affordable Care Act, which expanded healthcare to more than 20 million people and made benefits much better for over 150 million families.
Today, we have a decision to make of tremendous consequence, a decision that will make a difference for millions of Americans, saving lives and livelihoods. And as with all decisions, it is a decision that we will have to answer for. We will give the American Rescue Plan a resounding and, hopefully, bipartisan vote to reflect the bipartisan support that it has in the country. And we will get to work immediately to deliver lifesaving resources springing from this bill as soon as it is passed and signed, as we join President Biden in his promise that help is on the way. For the people, for the children, I urge a ``yes'' vote.
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