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American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

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The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was a federal budget reconciliation bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on March 11, 2021, to provide economic relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To read the full text of the bill, click here.

According to the White House, the key features of the law included the following government initiatives and investments:[1]

  • Spend approximately $160 billion on national vaccination program and response
  • Spend approximately $130 billion to safely reopen schools
  • Distribute $1,400 per person in relief payments
  • Extend unemployment benefits to September 6, 2021
  • Increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 15 percent through September 2021
  • Increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,000 per child over age 6 and $3,600 per child under age 6
  • Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Expand childcare assistance and provide an additional tax credit for childcare costs
  • Provide $1 billion to states for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients
  • Lower health insurance premiums

The bill was passed through the budget reconciliation process, which provides a procedural path around the supermajority requirement in the Senate. It was created by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to facilitate a quicker process for reviewing and passing certain bills related to spending, revenues, and debt. This process is not subject to the filibuster and only requires a simple majority vote.[2] No Republican House or Senate member supported the bill.

This page provides the following information about the American Rescue Plan Act:

Details of the bill

Budget reconciliation
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Summary of the bill

The following bill summary was prepared by the Congressional Research Service:

“

This bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.

Specifically, the bill provides funding for

  • agriculture and nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program);
  • schools and institutions of higher education;
  • child care and programs for older Americans and their families;
  • COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, treatment, and prevention;
  • mental health and substance-use disorder services;
  • emergency rental assistance, homeowner assistance, and other housing programs;
  • payments to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments for economic relief;
  • multiemployer pension plans;
  • small business assistance, including specific programs for restaurants and live venues;
  • programs for health care workers, transportation workers, federal employees, veterans, and other targeted populations;
  • international and humanitarian responses;
  • tribal government services;
  • scientific research and development;
  • state, territorial, and tribal capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to COVID-19; and
  • health care providers in rural areas.

The bill also includes provisions that

  • extend unemployment benefits and related services;
  • make up to $10,200 of 2020 unemployment compensation tax-free;
  • make student loan forgiveness tax-free through 2025;
  • provide a maximum recovery rebate of $1,400 per eligible individual;
  • expand and otherwise modify certain tax credits, including the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit;
  • provide premium assistance for certain health insurance coverage; and
  • require coverage, without cost-sharing, of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).[3]
 ”
—Congressional Research Service[4]

Estimated budgetary effects

The Congressional Budget Office produced the data in the following table showing the estimated budgetary effects of the American Rescue Plan Act from 2021 to 2031. Figures are listed in millions of dollars. Scroll right to see the full range of years.[5]

Congressional action

Timeline

The following section provides an abbreviated timeline of key actions in the passage of ARPA.[6]

  • March 11, 2021: Signed into law by President Joe Biden (D)
  • March 10, 2021: House agreed to the Senate amendment by a vote of 220-211
  • March 6, 2021: Passed the Senate with amendment by a vote of 50-49
  • February 27, 2021: Passed the House by a vote of 219-212
  • February 24, 2021: Introduced in the House by Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.)

Budget reconciliation process

See also: Budget reconciliation in the United States Congress

Budget reconciliation is a legislative process created by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Under the act, reconciliation can be used on legislation that changes the federal debt limit, revenue, or spending. As it relates to spending, reconciliation can be used to consider changes in spending on entitlement programs with the exception of Social Security. Because appropriations under mandatory spending are typically codified, amendments to those laws are often required.

In the Senate, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), "reconciliation bills aren’t subject to filibuster and the scope of amendments is limited."[7]

For reconciliation measures to be considered by Congress, both chambers must agree on a budget resolution. This resolution must include resolution instructions, which contain four elements:

  • the relevant committee(s) to which the instruction is directed,
  • the deadline by which committee compliance must be achieved,
  • the specific change to either revenues, spending, or the debt (in dollars), and
  • the time period over which those budgetary changes must be achieved.

Once both chambers agree on a budget resolution, committees have until their specified deadlines in the resolution guidelines to produce reconciliation measures. Once a committee develops reconciliation measures, the committee then votes on whether to report the resolution. Once a measure is reported to the chamber, and the measure passes, resolution of differences between the chambers is typically addressed in conference. The Senate, however, limits debate time on a conference budget resolution.[8][9]

Congress is limited to using reconciliation for only one bill for each of the fiscal changes provided for in the reconciliation instructions, that is, changes to revenues, spending, and the debt limit. A single bill may make changes to all three, or two of three, but Congress cannot consider multiple bills satisfying the same instruction in a budget resolution. Thus, "Congress may not consider multiple tax bills under reconciliation procedures, or a bill that includes revenue and outlays and then another tax bill under the same budget resolution."[8]

Vote-a-rama

See also: Vote-a-ramas in the U.S. Senate

As part of the budget reconciliation process in the U.S. Senate, senators were allowed to propose amendments to the reconciliation bill after the debate period has ended. Senators would briefly explain the amendment before the Senate proceeded to a roll call with a 10-minute duration. This process, sometimes called the vote-a-rama, had no procedural limit on the number of amendments that could be proposed.[10]

During the vote-a-rama for the American Rescue Plan Act, 37 roll call votes were held on March 5-6, 2021.[11]

Roll calls

House vote on Senate amendment (March 10, 2021)

The House voted 220-210 to adopt the Senate amendment on March 10, 2021.

  • 220 Democrats voted yes.
  • One Democrat—Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine)—voted no.
  • 210 Republicans voted no and one did not vote.

Senate vote with amendment (March 6, 2021)

The Senate voted 50-49 to pass the bill with amendment on March 6, 2021.

  • All 48 Democrats voted to pass the bill.
  • The two independents who caucus with Democrats also voted to pass the bill.
  • 49 Republicans voted against the bill.
  • One Republican did not vote.

House vote (February 27, 2021)

The House voted 219-212 to pass the bill on February 27, 2021.

  • 219 Democrats voted yes.
  • Two Democrats—Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.)—voted no.
  • 210 Republicans voted no and one did not vote.

Support and opposition

The following section includes statements of support and opposition to the bill from Democratic and Republican members of Congress.

Support

“ The American Rescue Plan is a bill of historic proportions. It is a $1.9 trillion investment in the American people during a time of crisis, and it will lay the foundation for rebuilding our country after these twelve awful months. It is an eminently people-focused bill, one designed to achieve one of the most significant reductions in poverty in modern American history. According to the Tax Policy Center, the poorest 20% of Americans are estimated to see about a 20 percent boost in income from this legislation, while the wealthiest 1% of Americans will receive an income boost of 0%. That stands in stark contrast to the Republican tax bill, which was skewed in exactly the opposite direction.[3] ”
—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)[12]


“ From family budgets, to health care delivery, to students and business owners struggling with slow or no broadband, the pandemic has strained nearly every aspect of life across Vermont. My top priority for this relief package has been to ensure that Vermont has the resources we need to address our current needs and to chart a course of recovery out of the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan delivers on that goal by making significant investments in our infrastructure to help us end this pandemic and making the largest investments to address poverty in over a generation.[3] ”
—Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)[13]


“ The bill is much more than just individual stimulus checks, which the media trumpeted — it’s made up of a number of ambitious and transformative provisions that deserve greater attention. Beyond just responding to the immediate crisis of the pandemic itself, the American Rescue Plan strikes at the stark inequities in our country that have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Communities of color and low-income families have borne the brunt of coronavirus, and this bill is a lifeline that will have lasting impact beyond the immediate future of this crisis.[3] ”
—Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)[14]

Opposition

“ This is a classic example of big government Democratic overreach in the name of COVID relief. And we all know that what we should have been doing and would have been doing had this been a bipartisan discussion, instead of a jam the other side approach, is $500 or $600 billion directly targeted at the problem.[3] ”
—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)[15]


“ [B]ecause of [President Biden] and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, here we are facing a $1.9 trillion so-called coronavirus relief bill which, when it passed the House, there was bipartisan opposition. You’d say, why would that be? Why would every Republican vote against it as well as some Democrats? And it’s because it is packed with pork. It is a wish list of liberal spending. What does it do? Bails out states, bails out big cities, bails out failed union pension plans.[3] ”
—Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)[15]


“ Here is the truth: Only 9 percent—9 percent—will go toward vaccines, testing, healthcare jobs; 9 percent of a nearly $2 trillion bill goes for COVID relief. ... They certainly didn’t pour their time and energy into those 600 pages to provide relief but to shamelessly advance their own agenda and throw aside struggling families and workers. ... They used slick messaging and wordy phrases to sell a bill of goods that treats every pet project they have and every liberal wish list agenda item as essential.[3] ”
—Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)[15]

Independent analysis

This section includes links to independent analysis of the costs and benefits of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Key legislation during Biden administration

This section provides links to coverage of key federal legislation considered during the Biden administration. To be included, the bill must have met several of the following qualifying factors:

  • Collaboration between the president and congressional leadership on the bill
  • Use of the reconciliation process to pass the bill
  • Changes to the congressional procedure to pass the bill
  • Estimated cost of the bill as evaluated by the Congressional Budget Office
  • Extent of public relations campaign to promote the bill
  • Domestic and international policy ramifications

Legislation in the 118th Congress

Legislation in the 117th Congress

See also


Reconciliation process and details:

Reconciliation origin, historical use, and analysis:


External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ White House, "American Rescue Plan Fact Sheet," accessed March 31, 2021
  2. ↑ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Introduction to Budget Reconciliation," November 19, 2016
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," accessed March 31, 2021
  5. ↑ Congressional Budget Office, "Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1319," accessed March 31, 2021
  6. ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Actions," accessed March 31, 2021
  7. ↑ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Introduction to budget 'reconciliation'," November 9, 2016
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 American Action Forum, "Budget reconciliation: a primer," January 24, 2017
  9. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action," February 23, 2016
  10. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Budget Reconciliation Process: Stages of Consideration," January 25, 2021
  11. ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.1319 — 117th Congress (2021-2022): Actions," accessed March 31, 2021
  12. ↑ Senate Democrats, "New Schumer Dear Colleague Letter on Senate Passage of American Rescue Plan," March 9, 2021
  13. ↑ Sen. Patrick Leahy, "Leahy Hails Final Passage Of The American Rescue Plan," March 10, 2021
  14. ↑ Sen. Dianne Feinstein, "'Help is on the way’'with President Biden’s American Rescue Plan," March 24, 2021
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Mitch McConnell, "A Classic Example Of Big Government Democratic Overreach," March 11, 2021
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