President Biden’s American Rescue Plan brings help to Illinois

On March 11, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law. This COVID-19 relief legislation provides significant new resources to fight the pandemic, help working people and families, aid states and local government and jump start the economy.

“This measure is a remarkable achievement that will shore up our middle class and help the most vulnerable in our communities while ensuring our state and local governments can meet the needs of their residents,” Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “We can be proud of the part AFSCME played in securing these sorely needed investments. As usual, our union never quit until the job was done.”

Throughout the past year, AFSCME members generated calls and letters to Congress and the White House urging the nation’s leadership to “Fund the Front Lines.” When the previous administration and Senate majority tried to walk away from their responsibility to the American middle class, AFSCME organized and mobilized, helping elect President Biden and end Mitch McConnell’s barricade of the legislation in the Senate.

“This is a historic victory for public service workers and working families across the country,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Among many other things, this landmark legislation will deliver families a vital economic lifeline in the form of $1,400 checks, protect health care coverage for those who have lost their jobs and invest in the public services we need to finally crush this virus.”

Help is here

The following summary describes some of the key parts of the law of importance to AFSCME members.

For hard-hit workers and families:

• Individual adults with income of $75,000 or less (or two-adult households with income under $150,000) will receive a stimulus payment of $1,400, as well as $1,400 for each dependent. This targeted relief is expected to benefit 85% of all Illinois adults and 83% of all Illinois children.
• Extends federal unemployment programs through September 6, which affects 205,000 Illinoisans claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and 251,000 Illinoisans claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. 
• Up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits will be exempt from federal income taxes for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans that have claimed unemployment insurance benefits in 2020.
• Lowers health premiums on the Affordable Care Act for the average Illinois couple by $1,300.
• Employees who lose their health insurance coverage due to involuntary job loss or a reduction in hours are eligible for a federal subsidy that covers 100% of the premium for COBRA continuation coverage from April 1 through Sept. 30.
• The Rescue Plan includes a very significant one-year expansion of support for children and dependent care. The 2021 maximum child tax credit is increased from $2,000 to $3,600 for each child under 6 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17. The increases in the maximum begin to phase out for heads of households making $112,500 and married couples making $150,000.
• The 2021 maximum dependent care tax credit, which offsets the cost of care for children under 13 and other dependents, is increased to $4,000 for families with one child and $8,000 for those with two or more children. It reimburses families for up to 50% of the cost of child care expenses.

To avoid drastic budget cuts at every level of government:

• The American Rescue Plan will provide some $13.2 billion in flexible, direct aid for Illinois state government, cities and counties to help cope with the revenues lost due to the pandemic in a time of rising demand for vital public services. 

In the battle against COVID-19, emergency aid is increased:

• Provides some $275 million in vaccine distribution money for Illinois.
• Includes $1.5 billion for testing.
• Adds public health money for Illinois health departments.
• Invests hundreds of millions in Illinois community health centers and health workforces.
• The act also modifies and extends the emergency paid sick and paid family leave tax credits that were first passed in 2020. The new law does not require that any employer provide leave, but it does expand access to tax credits for leave provided voluntarily to employees.

To strengthen our education and human service infrastructure:

• Provides more than $7.5 billion in aid for Illinois K-12 schools, institutions of higher education, and early childhood education/child care providers.
• Provides more than $100 million for mental health and substance abuse treatment efforts in Illinois.
• Illinois will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for homeowner assistance to provide homeowners with direct help with mortgage payments, as well as funds for emergency rental assistance to help renters with unpaid rent, utilities, and other housing related costs.
• Extends 15% SNAP benefit increase through September 30, 2021, which would help 2 million people in Illinois, and increases the WIC benefit.
• Extends the Pandemic-EBT feeding program through next school year, to support one million children in Illinois who are not able to access consistent meals at school.

Physical, social and technological infrastructure:

• The new law creates a Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund which will provide $100 million to Illinois for critical capital projects.
• The plan provides financial assistance for rural hospitals and facilities to cover healthcare-related expenses and lost revenues attributable to the pandemic.
• Provides funds to libraries and museums to implement public health protocols, increase broadband accessibility and fund payroll costs.
• Estimated $1.5 billion in transit funding is directed to the Chicago region which will help fund operating expenses and payroll for frontline workers of the CTA, Metra, and Pace through 2023.
• Some $380 million for Illinois airports is included as part of the $8 billion for airports and airport concessions in the bill.
• Includes over $7 million for Illinois state veterans’ homes.
• The new law also includes several provisions that affect employers and state UI programs, including $2 billion for state unemployment IT systems upgrades focused on fraud prevention, equitable access and timely payment of benefits.

Disaster relief:

• Allocates $50 billion to replenish FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which provides COVID-19 assistance to Illinois at a 100 percent federal cost share.
• Provides $300 million in firefighter grants, including $200 million for SAFER grants to increase emergency personnel staffing, and $100 million for Assistance to Firefighter grants to for fire departments to purchase equipment and resources.
• Provides $400 million for FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which funds nonprofits helping households that are experiencing, or at risk of, food insecurity or homelessness.