ARTICLE
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. The purpose for the bill was to provide additional relief to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the sixth bill Congress has passed in the past year to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the bill proved to be highly divisive amongst Democrats and Republicans. Negotiations leading up to the bill’s passage in both the House and Senate were highly contentious with Republicans arguing that the bill was unnecessary and that the legislation was not targeting issues related to COVID-19. Ultimately, the bill passed without any Republican support. Democrats did not need any Republican votes to pass the bill in the Senate due to the fact that the relief bill passed under the budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to pass budget bills by a simple majority vote. While Democrats were unable to include a provision increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, Democrats were able to achieve several policy victories in the new relief bill –particularly financial relief for state and local governments. Some of the main provisions in the relief bill are as follows: Direct payments of $1400 will be sent to those earning up to $75,000 and $2800 for married couples earning up to $150,000. Payments will phase out for those with incomes up to $80,000 and for married couples earning up to $160,000. Federal unemployment supplements of $300 per week through September 6th. Extension of the Employee Retention Tax Credit through December 31, 2021. The tax credit was originally set to expire on June 30, 2021. Qualifying employers may be able to claim an additional $14,000 per employee in 2021. $362 billion will go to state and local government aid. $174 billion for vaccine distribution and other COVID-19 public health-related measures. Besides the provisions included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, it is likely that Congress will pass a new law in the coming weeks that would extend the application deadline for Paycheck Protection Loans (PPP Loan). Under current law, the deadline for applying for a PPP Loan is March 30th. However, last night, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would extend the deadline to May 31. ARA will keep monitoring for any additional developments.
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. The purpose for the bill was to provide additional relief to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the sixth bill Congress has passed in the past year to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the bill proved to be highly divisive amongst Democrats and Republicans. Negotiations leading up to the bill’s passage in both the House and Senate were highly contentious with Republicans arguing that the bill was unnecessary and that the legislation was not targeting issues related to COVID-19. Ultimately, the bill passed without any Republican support. Democrats did not need any Republican votes to pass the bill in the Senate due to the fact that the relief bill passed under the budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to pass budget bills by a simple majority vote. While Democrats were unable to include a provision increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, Democrats were able to achieve several policy victories in the new relief bill –particularly financial relief for state and local governments. Some of the main provisions in the relief bill are as follows:
Besides the provisions included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, it is likely that Congress will pass a new law in the coming weeks that would extend the application deadline for Paycheck Protection Loans (PPP Loan). Under current law, the deadline for applying for a PPP Loan is March 30th. However, last night, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would extend the deadline to May 31. ARA will keep monitoring for any additional developments.