From the Majority Leader Press Shop:
This week, House committees are marking up pieces of the American Rescue Plan to provide desperately needed relief to American families.
Today, four House Committees are marking up their portions of the American Rescue Plan. As you cover these markups, we wanted to be sure you had a few stats in mind:
The House Ways and Means Committee met at 10:00 a.m. today.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meets at 11:00 a.m. today.
The House Financial Services Committee meets at 12:00 p.m. today.
The House Agriculture Committee meets at 2:00 p.m. today.
This week, House committees are marking up pieces of the American Rescue Plan to provide desperately needed relief to American families.
Today, four House Committees are marking up their portions of the American Rescue Plan. As you cover these markups, we wanted to be sure you had a few stats in mind:
The House Ways and Means Committee met at 10:00 a.m. today.
- The Bureau of Economic Analysis found that 2020 was the worst year for the U.S. economy since 1946, shrinking 3.5%. [Washington Post, 1/28/21]
- 11.4 million American workers would lose their unemployment benefits this spring if Congress doesn’t extend them. [The Century Foundation, 2/10/21]
- The American Rescue Plan provides $1,400 in direct economic payments to individuals, extends weekly $400 increased unemployment benefits through August 2021, reduces health care premiums for working families, and expands the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meets at 11:00 a.m. today.
- Transit ridership dropped by 79% nationwide in 2020. [APTA, 1/2021]
- The American Rescue Plan provides $30 billion for transit systems to help with operating costs and $1.5 for Amtrak to pay furloughed employees.
- It also provides $50 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which helps local, state, and tribal governments address the ongoing response to COVID-19 including vaccination efforts, PPE for public sector employees, and deployment of the National Guard.
The House Financial Services Committee meets at 12:00 p.m. today.
- 30 to 40 million Americans renters are at risk of eviction and more than 200,000 evictions have taken place during the pandemic. [Washington Post, 1/20/21]
- The American Rescue Plan provides $25 billion for emergency rental assistance to keep families in their homes and $5 billion in homelessness assistance.
- The legislation also provides $10 billion for Defense Production Act spending to address shortages in medical supplies and equipment, like N95 masks and syringes.
The House Agriculture Committee meets at 2:00 p.m. today.
- Almost 24 million adults have reported not having enough food to eat, and between nine and twelve million children live in a household without enough food to eat. [CBPP, 1/28/21]
- The American Rescue Plan extends the 15% SNAP benefit increase through September 2021 and helps ensure struggling households have enough food on their tables.