American Rescue Plan Act of 2021- Summary

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, H.R. 1319

This comprehensive bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.  It was sponsored by Representative John Yarmuth (D-KY-3) on February 24, 2021, passed in the house on February 27, 2021, passed in the Senate on March 6, 2021, and became a public law No. 117-2 on March 11, 2021.

Specifically, the bill provides funding for:

1. agriculture and nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program);
2. schools and institutions of higher education;
3. child care and programs for older Americans and their families;
4. COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, treatment, and prevention;
5. mental health and substance-use disorder services;
6. emergency rental assistance, homeowner assistance, and other housing programs;
7. payments to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments for economic relief;
8. multiemployer pension plans;
9. small business assistance, including specific programs for restaurants and live venues, which include revitalization grants facilitated by the Small Business Administration (Restaurant Revitalization Grants)
10. assistance and grants for State arts agencies and regional arts organization under the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act (See Shuttered Venue Grants for performing arts);
11. assistance for museum and library services;
12. programs for health care workers, transportation workers, federal employees, veterans, and other targeted populations;
13. international and humanitarian responses;
14. tribal government services;
    1. scientific research and development;
15. state, territorial, and tribal capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to COVID-19; and
16. health care providers in rural areas.

The bill also includes provisions that:

1. extend unemployment benefits and related services through September 6, 2021;
2. make up to $10,200 of 2020 unemployment compensation tax-free;
3. make student loan forgiveness tax-free through 2025;
4. provide a maximum recovery rebate of $1,400 per eligible individual;
5. expand and otherwise modify certain tax credits, including the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit and the employee retention credit;
6. provide premium assistance for certain health insurance coverage; and
7. requires coverage, without cost-sharing, of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

For the full text of HR. 1319 and related bills, click here https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22american+rescue+plan+act%22%5D%7D&r=13&s=1

For more information about business assistance programs of the SBA, click here https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options.  Note the info on the Restaurant Revitalization Grants have not yet been posted on the SBA site.