American Rescue Plan Act Signed Into Law

This week, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion bill to help fight the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Senator and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led the effort in the Senate, and yesterday President Biden signed the law, which will provide critical assistance to the American people during this unprecedented crisis.

In addition to direct stimulus payments, the bill provides approximately $86 billion in financial assistance to struggling multi-employer pension plans, ensuring that retirees will get the pensions they earned over a lifetime of hard work. It extends pandemic-related unemployment assistance, including the current $300 supplement to unemployment benefits, for another six months through Sept. 6, and makes the first $10,200 of 2020 unemployment benefits tax-free for people with incomes of less than $150,000. It subsidizes 100% of health care premiums for six months for COBRA-eligible individuals who lose their job or had reduced hours. It provides $30.4 billion for grants to transit agencies, $1.7 billion for Amtrak, and $15 billion for wages and benefits of employees and contractors in the airline industry. And it extends eligibility for the PPP forgivable loan program to more tax-exempt groups, including 501(c)(5) labor organizations. Click here for more ways the American Rescue Plan Act will help working people!