This weekend, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted in support of H.R. 1319, The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which implements President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to address the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 passed the House of Representatives, 219-212. 

As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Congresswoman Fletcher directly worked on provisions to establish a national vaccination program, expand national testing efforts, ramp up health services for underserved communities, increasing internet access, and more.  Fletcher’s bill to incentivize Medicaid expansion and ensure millions of low-income Americans have access to health care, the Expand Medicaid Now Act, passed as a part of The American Rescue Plan Act.   

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a devastating public health and economic crisis in our communities.  In just one year, our country has lost more than half a million people to COVID-19—including more than 3,000 lives here in Harris County.  The pandemic and its toll on our communities will not end until we act at all levels of government to respond to the crisis,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “That’s why I was proud to work on this legislative package to provide direct COVID-19 relief as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I was glad to vote for its passage. 

“I’m also glad that this legislation includes my bill to incentivize states like Texas to expand Medicaid and increase access to health care for low income families across our state.  I will continue to advocate for our community and our country as we work to overcome the many challenges of the pandemic together.”

Below is an overview of key provisions in The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021:

• Provides working families an additional direct payment of $1,400 per person—bringing the total relief payment to $2,000 per person in combination with the year-end relief package: In December, Congress enacted a COVID-19 relief package that provided a direct payment of $600 per person.  The American Rescue Plan Act builds on that down payment, providing another $1,400 per person.  

• Makes the child tax credit fully refundable and increases its size for 2021: The bill makes the child tax credit fully refundable for 2021 and increases the annual amount from the current $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for a child under age 6).  Currently, because the child tax credit is not fully refundable, there are 27 million American children who do not receive the full value of the current $2,000 tax credit because their parents do not earn enough money.

• Establishes a national COVID-19 vaccination program and increases vaccinations across the country: The bill provides over $20 billion to establish a national COVID-19 vaccination program and improves the administration and distribution of vaccinations. 

• Scales up COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and mitigation, in order to stop the spread of the virus: The bill provides $51 billion to expand testing, contact tracing, and mitigation and related activities.

• Provides nearly $130 billion to help K-12 schools re-open safely: The bill makes nearly $130 billion available to states and school districts for immediate and long-term relief so they can work with public health experts to safely re-open schools and make up for lost time in the classroom. 

• Helps bridge the digital divide by providing $7.6 billion to expand internet connectivity to students and communities. 

• Extends unemployment benefits: The bill extends the federal supplemental unemployment benefit through August 29 and increases the weekly supplemental benefit from the current $300 per week to $400 per week.

• Provides $26 billion for emergency rental assistance to help ensure struggling families continue to have a safe place to live during this pandemic. 

• Makes key investments in food security: In response to persistent hunger in communities across the country, this bill helps combat increasing food insecurity with key investments in SNAP, WIC, Pandemic EBT and other critical nutrition assistance.