Blog

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have passed the American Rescue Plan.  

Lawmakers approved the $1.9 trillion dollar spending plan strictly along party lines with no support from the GOP.  President Biden has announced his will sign the legislation on Friday.  In total, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office estimates approximately $100 billion is headed to New York and its residents through the American Rescue Plan’s various provisions and programs. 

The American Rescue Plan Includes: 

Direct Payment to Individuals 

• Provides $1,400 direct payment to individuals with up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income (up to $150,000 for married couples filing jointly).  The payment is phased out or reduced for individuals/married couples with higher incomes.   
• Provides $1,400 direct payment for both children and non-child dependents. 

Child Tax Credit  

• Increases the CTC amount to $3,000 per child (under 18 years old) for 2021, up from $2,000 under current law. The credit totals $3,600 for children under the age of six. 

Unemployment & Housing Aid 

• Extends $300 a week federal unemployment compensation boost through September 6th. 
• Excludes up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 from taxable income. 

• Extends federal unemployment assistance to independent contractors, self-employed, and other workers who do not quality for regular state benefits through Aug. 29 and a maximum allotment of 74 weeks.   
• Allocates ~$20 billion for emergency assistance grants for rent, utilities, and other housing expenses to eligible households. 

State & Local Aid 

• Provides $350 billion for states, localities, tribes, and territories. 
• Including: 

• $12.5 billion for NYS 
• $350 million for City of Buffalo 
• $178 million for Erie County 
• $59 million for City of Niagara Falls 
• $41 million for Niagara County 

Public Health 

• Contains ~$9 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for vaccine distribution and vaccine confidence and education activities. 
• Contains ~$5 billion for vaccine and treatment supply chain activities. 
• Provides $46 billion for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and surveillance. 

Business Assistance 

• Provides ~$7 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 
• Provides $15 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program targeting entities with 50 percent or more revenue disruption and with 10 employees or less. 
• Creates a $25 billion program to assist restaurants other establishments serving food and drink. 

Childcare 

• Provides $15 billion in Child Care and Development Block Grant funding. 
• Provides $24 billion for Child Care Stabilization grants. 

Education Funding 

• Contains ~$130 billion more for K-12 schools. 
• Contains ~$40 billion for higher education institutions. 

Broadband Access 

• Establishes a ~$8 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund to provide funding for eligible schools and libraries to offer connected devices and internet service to students and teachers to connect to the internet at home. 
• This allocation is on top of the ~$3 billon Emergency Broadband Benefit Program designed to provide broadband subsidy to low-income households passed by Congress in the previous round of relief legislation. 

Transportation Sector Assistance 

• Extends payroll support for aviation sector employees by $15 billion. 

• Provides $8 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program, including $800 million to aid airport concessionaires. 
• Supports transit systems with a ~$30 billion allocation for Federal Transit Administration grant

*******

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is committed to providing employers with the latest information and resources to help you deal with COVID-19 and its impact on our community, state and nation. Visit our Events and Resource pages as they are updated regularly to provide you with the most current information.

Do you have specific questions related to running your business or your business unit?Visit the BNP Business Link, a question and answer forum for, and by, the Buffalo Niagara business community.  Submit your questions and get expert answers on just about any topic from legal, IT, HR, NYS regulations, sales, marketing, communications and more.  It is quick, confidential, powerful and convenient.