Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) voted for final passage of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion legislation that will provide urgently-needed resources to defeat the virus, put vaccines in people’s arms, money into families’ pockets, children safely back into classrooms and people back to work. This legislation will now go to President Biden’s desk for his signature.   

“Today is a day of great progress and great promise for Alabama families, communities, and small businesses, as both chambers of Congress have now passed the American Rescue Plan to send to President Biden’s desk for final signature,” said Rep. Terri Sewell. “I proudly voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan today because Alabama families and workers can no longer wait for relief from this public health and economic crisis. I want my constituents and all Americans to know that help is indeed on the way!”

“The American Rescue Plan supports working families by providing a direct stimulus payment of $1,400 to eligible individuals. This bill will also provide up to $472 million in direct funding for cities and counties in Alabama’s 7th District, which are in desperate need of funding and resources to fight the pandemic and distribute vaccines,” Sewell continued. “These provisions, along with the creation of a $20 billion national vaccination plan, the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit and Unemployment Benefits, and expanded subsidies for the ACA Marketplace are essential to crush the virus and Build Back Better.”

Among its provisions, the American Rescue Plan: 

  • Delivers immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis – The bill delivers on the promise to provide $2,000 per person in direct assistance to households across America with checks of $1,400 per person, following the $600 down payment enacted in December. The bill 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 and expand unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills and support 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and 15 million low-wage childless workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit. 
  • Provides direct financial assistance to cities and counties – The bill would provide desperately needed direct financial assistance to cities and counties in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District.  Our cities and counties are on the front lines in the fight against the COVID pandemic, and they need more direct assistance to develop local vaccination plans, pay frontline employees overtime and hazard pay, and continue to offer essential services to our families and neighbors.
  • Extends unemployment benefits – The bill extends the duration of unemployment benefits through September 6, 2021, and continues the benefits to $300 a week provided by the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (PEUC). 
  • Beats the virus and safely reopen schools – The bill will mount a $20 billion national vaccination plan that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide. It will also take 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 inequities. The plan will also make investments necessary to safely reopen schools.
  • Supports small businesses and communities struggling with the economic fallout – The bill 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 bill 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.
  • Provides new incentives for Medicaid expansion: The bill provides a new incentive for the 12 states, including Alabama, that have not expanded Medicaid to do so by temporarily increasing the base Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) by five percentage points for two years for any state that  expands.  If all 12 remaining states expanded Medicaid, more than 2 million uninsured people would gain access to Medicaid.
  • Expands Subsidies in ACA Marketplaces, making health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans: The bill significantly expands the subsidies in the ACA Marketplaces to cover more middle class families and to be more generous for those already receiving them, for 2021 and 2022.  Specifically, it removes the current cap that makes any family with income above 400% of the poverty level ineligible for any subsidies.  Under the bill, no one will have to pay more than 8.5 percent of their income for a silver plan in the ACA marketplaces. It also provides that individuals below 150% of the poverty level pay no premiums at all compared to 4% of their income currently. The Urban Institute estimates that these provisions could lead to 4.5 million more Americans gaining coverage.
  • Provides ACA Subsidies for those on unemployment: The bill provides that any individual who receives unemployment at any point in 2021 is treated as if their income were 133% of the poverty level for the purposes of the ACA marketplace subsidy. As a result, they can purchase an ACA silver plan for zero premium.