House Covid Relief plan
Butler County's congressional representatives voted along party lines in an early Saturday roll call vote resulting in approval of the proposed $1.9-trillion American Rescue Plan, based on an economic stimulus plan President Joe Biden announced in January.
All Republican representatives, including Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and Glenn Thompson, R-15th, along with two Democrats voted against the bill, which passed in a 219-212 vote cast just after 2 a.m. Saturday,
Rep. Connor Lamb, D-17th, voted in favor of the bill that now goes to the Senate for consideration.
“No amount of deficit spending will heal an economy that remains locked down. This so-called called American Rescue Plan focuses more on progressive pet projects than opening America, while only 9% of this bill focuses on COVID testing and vaccine distribution,” Kelly said.
“Congress' top priorities must be to get Americans back to work, our kids back to school, more efficient vaccine distribution and a return to fiscal sanity so we can get our country back on a path to prosperity,” Kelly said.Thompson said the bill ignores the needs of rural communities.He called it “a bill that spends too much on flawed priorities and fails to meet the needs of rural America.”Republican Agriculture Committee members' efforts to add amendments to support rural hospitals, schools, businesses and broadband access, telemedicine and disaster relief were defeated by Democratic members, Thompson said.
“The funding in this bill will deliver vaccines quicker, make schools safer and better support the unemployed. It will help the millions more who have lost hours at work due to the pandemic, and will protect people's jobs, especially those who work for airlines and the public sector,” Lamb said.“Millions of Americans are worrying today about how to make ends meet, and when a vaccine will help them get back to normal. They deserve to see their government act with the urgency demanded by this deadly disease. The Senate should pass this bill without delay,” said Lamb.One of the most controversial provisions in the bill would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, but it is unlikely to become law.The Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan official who decides which bills qualify to pass the Senate through reconciliation, determined Thursday the minimum wage increase did not meet the standards legislation must meet to be passed with a simple majority.The bill would institute a fully refundable child tax credit up to $3,600 that phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 a year or married couples earning more than $150,000.
The bill includes $30 billion in emergency rental assistance, $5 billion to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks among the homeless and $10 billion for mortgage assistance. The bill does not directly extend the nationwide eviction moratorium, which is currently slated to expire at the end of March.The bill funds a third economic impact payment of up to $1,400 per person and dependent.People with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 and married couples earning up to $150,000 would receive $1,400 each and $1,400 for each dependent. Adult dependents such as college students, disabled adults and the elderly would qualify for a payment.The payments gradually phase out individuals earning over $100,000 per year and couples earning over $200,000 per year.The bill would extend unemployment programs past their current March 14 expiration date through Aug. 29. In addition to extending benefits for gig workers and others who didn't qualify for benefits before the pandemic, it also boosts the enhanced federal payments from an extra $300 per week to $400.The bill allocates $20 billion to create a national COVID vaccination program and $50 billion for virus testing.The bill also provides funding for schools, restaurants and bars, state and local aid, vaccine production and distribution and paid leave.
