NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Connecticut’s two U.S. senators praised the recent passing of the American Rescue Plan, the new $1.9 trillion stimulus package that is geared toward boosting the economy from the bottom up.
The package, passed by the House of Representatives on Feb. 27 and by the Senate on March 6, is President Joe Biden’s biggest early priority and costs nearly one-tenth of the entire U.S. economy.
“This major lifesaving measure will put shots in the arms of people, it will put children back to school safely, and it will put money in people’s pockets,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said during a press conference in New Haven on Monday. “It will create a roaring economy with consumer spending being the engine that powers our economic economy.”
This package includes direct stimulus payments, extended unemployment compensation, rent assistance, and a significant increase in the child tax credit.
“Go big, do it now. Time is not on our side, in fact, we are making up for lost time” Blumenthal said.
The plan also provides for direct $1,400 stimulus payments to people making $75,000 or less annually, or couples making $150,000 or less. Each dependent, regardless of age, will also qualify for an additional $1,400.
“If you put the money into the foundation of the economy, if you put money into the pockets of poor people and middle-class families, everybody will do better,” Sen. Chris Murphy said.
The City of New Haven has been battling a deficit, and while this does provide a financial band-aid to the problem, it’s not going to heal the wound
“The city is in a financial crisis, and the funding will assist that, but it will not solve the problem,” Mayor Justin Elicker said Monday.
Under the relief package, the increased Child Tax Credit will provide families $3600 per year. For children ages 6-17, the total will drop to $3000 per year. This is an increase, that lawmakers boast, will bring half of the poverty-stricken children here in Connecticut, out of the crisis.
“This economy was hurting. American families were hurting before the pandemic. What the pandemic did was bring the entire economy to a halt but also expose how fragile America’s economic life was for so many people” said Murphy.
Not one Republican backed the bill in the Senate or when it initially passed the House, underscoring the barbed partisan environment that's characterized the early days of Biden's presidency.