Birmingham, AL — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) met with local officials in Jefferson County to highlight the direct relief that Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham will receive from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. This historic legislation creates a new Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to keep first responders, health workers, teachers, and other frontline workers safely on the job as the Biden-Harris Administration and local governments roll out vaccines and fight to rebuild Main Street economies. 

“I am thrilled to announce Jefferson County will receive over $127 million and the City of Birmingham will receive over $148 million provided by the historic American Rescue Plan,” said Rep. Sewell. “Today’s visit reinforced the necessity for the critical funding provided by the American Rescue Plan. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, these cities and counties have been on the front lines working tirelessly with little to no resources to ensure that their communities survive this pandemic.”

“As the only member of the Alabama Congressional Delegation to vote in favor of this legislation, I was proud to join with Congressional Democrats to ensure that we are delivering the resources necessary to crush this pandemic and build back better,” continued Sewell. “Help is here, Alabama!” 

Specifically, Sewell announced federal funding for the following:

• Jefferson County will receive $127.73 million. 

• Jefferson County schools will receive $69.711 million. 

• The City of Birmingham will receive $148.82 million. 

• Birmingham City Schools will receive $119.910 million. 

• The City of Bessemer will receive $14.72 million. 

• Bessemer City Schools will receive $15.913 million. 

• The City of Center Point will receive $2.99 million. 

• The City of Fairfield will receive $1.96 million. 

• The City of Tarrant will receive $1.13 million. 

The American Rescue Plan will save lives and livelihoods: 

• Put Vaccines in Arms: The plan has created a $20 billion national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and addressing disparities facing communities of color.  It also takes complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments and addressing health care disparities. 

• Put Money in People’s Pockets: The plan finishes the job on the President’s promise to provide $2,000 in direct assistance to households across America with checks of $1,400 per person, following the $600 down payment enacted in December.  The plan will also provide direct housing assistance, nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills and support 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and more than 17 million low-wage workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit.

• Put Children Safely Back in School: The plan delivers $170 billion for education and $45 billion for child care providers.  This includes a $130 billion investment in K-12 school re-opening and making up for lost time in the classroom, with funds that can be used for such things as reducing class sizes, modifying spaces so that students and teachers can socially distance, improving ventilation, implementing more mitigation measures, providing personal protective equipment and providing summer school or other support for students that help make up lost learning time this year.  The plan also provides more than $40 billion for higher education.

• Put People Back In Jobs: The plan will provide crucial support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination, with EIDL grants, expanded PPP eligibility and more.  The plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.

Background on the American Rescue Plan District Tour: 

Rep. Sewell’s American Rescue Plan District Tour is a series of site visits, roundtable discussions, and constituency meetings to connect residents of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District with all the resources available in the American Rescue Plan. The tour began on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, and will continue through Friday, April 9, 2021. 

Announcements, photos and videos from the tour will be made available on Rep. Sewell’s social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as on her website at Sewell.house.gov.  

Photos and videos from today’s press conferences can be found here.