A Rescue Plan Supporting Safer, Healthier Communities

Last Thursday, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package aimed at addressing the ongoing economic and public health crisis caused by the pandemic. The law includes items such as comprehensive support for fighting the virus combined with significant investments to deliver American households immediate relief, including extended unemployment insurance benefits, $1,400 checks to working families, and emergency coverage for back rent and childcare. A study from Columbia University found that certain relief provisions in the law could lift five million children out of poverty this year, helping to address the many inequities laid bare and exacerbated by the pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan, designed to stem the health and economic tolls of the pandemic, is also a huge win for advancing safer and healthier communities. It includes investments in our nation’s schools, affordable housing and city, state and tribal governments, including:

• Nearly $130 billion to safely reopen schools
  The funding targets schools most in need and will help those schools not only prepare to reopen but also do so more safely through key investments in operational policies and maintenance protocols that promote health and safety. “It is so important that public school districts have some federal funding that allows for facilities repairs and improvements to reopen and operate schools safely during this pandemic,” said Mary Filardo, 21st Century School Fund Director and leader of the Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC), of which IWBI is a member along with over 100 education, civic, labor and industry organizations.
• More than $40 billion for affordable housing and community development
  The law makes sizeable investments in several new and existing affordable housing programs, including more than $21 billion for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, nearly $10 billion for a Homeowner Assistance Fund, $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers and $5 billion for the HOME program, which promotes homelessness support services and affordable housing development.
• More than $350 billion to states, local governments, territories and tribal governments
  Our sub-national governments have been on the frontlines of fighting the pandemic, facing enormous costs as they try to meet the demands of the cascading public health crisis. The plan includes funding that will provide direct relief to all 19,000 cities, towns and villages in the United States. “The President has ensured that a total of $65.1 billion in direct federal aid will be delivered to municipalities across the nation that have experienced unprecedented financial hardships over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Clarence Anthony, executive director of the National League of Cities.

The law also includes numerous other investments aimed at assisting those sectors particularly affected by the pandemic to recover and reopen more safely and to promote health across communities nationwide. Below are several notable highlights by sub-sector.

Small businesses:

• $7.25 billion to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
• $1.25 billion in additional funds for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, providing aid to hard-hit small businesses and nonprofits

Restaurants:

• $28.6 billion for a restaurant revitalization grant program

Higher education:

• $40 billion to colleges and universities through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), including $3 billion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)

Airports:

• $8 billion for airports, including funding for operations, personnel, cleaning, sanitization and combating the spread of pathogens at the airport.

Transportation:

• $30 billion for transit systems heavily impacted by the pandemic

Public health infrastructure:

• $7.66 billion for the public health workforce, including grant support to public health departments.
• $7.6 billion for community health centers and community care
• $1.5 billion for block grants for community mental health services

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll across the country, and has been demonstrated to have had disproportionate impacts falling on low-income families and marginalized communities. The American Rescue Plan Act aims to deliver aid where it is needed most to support healthier and safer communities, while recognizing the profound impact of health inequities and acting to protect those who are most vulnerable.