La Crosse, WI – Earlier this month, Rep. Ron Kind voted to pass the landmark American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021. Today, Rep. Kind is highlighting the critical resources that Wisconsin families and communities will receive to help crush the COVID-19 virus and build back stronger than ever.
“For over a year now, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis has put an unprecedented burden on Wisconsin small businesses, farmers, and families,” said Rep. Ron Kind. “With the American Rescue Plan, Wisconsinites will receive the urgent relief they need. I was proud to help pass this landmark legislation, and now, I’m proud to share the support that’s on the way to families and communities across Wisconsin.”
The pandemic and economic crisis has hit Wisconsin hard:
- Since the pandemic began, more than 621,654 Wisconsinites have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 7,106 have died
- The unemployment rate in Wisconsin is 4% up from 3.3% before the pandemic
- Since February 2020, more than 42,004 fewer Wisconsinites are employed
- 334,000 adults – 9% of all adults in the state – report not having enough food to eat. This includes 147,000 adults living with children, or 11% of all Wisconsin adults living with children, who report that the children in their household do not have enough to eat
- An estimated 156,000 renters or 13% of Wisconsin renters are not caught up on rent
- An estimated 1,219,000 adults or 29% of all adults statewide report having difficulty covering normal household expenses
The American Rescue Plan will help ensure communities across Wisconsin get the support they urgently need with targeted state and local relief:
- $2.68 billion in relief to Wisconsin
- $2.1 billion in local fiscal relief
- Over $1.59 billion in relief for Wisconsin K-12 schools
- Relief checks of up to $1,400 per person for more than 3,817,100 Wisconsin adults and 1,368,300 children. This is 89% of all adults in the state and 88% of all children in the state
- Additional relief of up to $1,600 per child through the Child Tax Credit to the families of 1,159,000 children, lifting 46,000 children across Wisconsin out of poverty
- Additional relief of up to nearly $1,000 through the Earned Income Tax Credit to 321,000 childless Wisconsin workers, including many in frontline jobs
- Marketplace health insurance premiums that are $1,410 lower per month for a 60-year old Wisconsin couple earning $75,000 per year
The American Rescue Plan will help us recover from this pandemic and build back stronger than ever by putting:
- Vaccines in arms: The plan will provide funding for a national vaccination program to set up community vaccination sites and scale up testing and tracing efforts. The legislation will also address shortages in Personal Protective Equipment and other critical supplies.
- Money in pockets: The plan delivers on the promise of $2,000 in direct assistance to families across Wisconsin with checks of $1,400 per person following the $600 payment enacted in December. This includes college students and other adult dependents. The plan also expands access to child care and affordable health care, extends Unemployment Insurance, improves on the Earned Income Tax Credit, provides nutrition assistance, and expands the Child Tax Credit.
- Students back in the classroom: The plan includes $170 billion for education and $45 billion for child care providers, with $130 billion for safely reopening K-12 schools and helping our students make up for lost time in the classroom. The plan also provides over $40 billion for higher education.
- People in jobs: The plan will provide critical resources for our first responders, teachers, transit workers, public health workers, and other frontline workers. Additionally it will ensure hard-hit small businesses get the support they need through expanded PPP eligibility, EIDL grants, and more.
Rep. Kind serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means. The committee is the most powerful – and the oldest – committee in the House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over trade and tariff laws, as well as many other economic growth measures.
