COVID-19 Delivery Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, more than a year has passed since the coronavirus was first detected in the United States. In that time, we have lost over half a million people to this relentless virus. We are a nation in mourning for our lost loved ones, our neighbors, and, indeed, our colleagues.

As we mourn, much of American life is unrecognizable. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their safety, and their security, and 10 million jobs that were lost have not been returned.

This is the hard reality across this Nation and in every single congressional district across our country.

Through all this pain, our care for one another is still recognizable. We have seen this in the countless hours our health heroes have spent caring for the sick. We have seen other essential workers who have kept our grocery aisles stocked and our mail delivered. We have seen the care of neighbors, indeed, helping neighbors.

Today, Congress acts in the same spirit of care for our fellow Americans by delivering on the relief our constituents, always with humility, have been asking for.

This is not about dollars and cents. This is about lives that are at stake. We can save them by passing this bill. We will get shots into arms faster. We will help families stay housed and, indeed, put food on their tables. Most importantly, this package will help families avoid impossible choices.

The Ways and Means Committee, which has written half of this legislation--and I must tell you, in all my years, I am really proud of what we did, and a reminder that it was the CARES Act that saved the American economy 1 year ago. Full of proven policies, it will fight both for public health and, simultaneously, the economic crisis.

We will not get back to economic recovery until we defeat this virus.

We are balancing immediate relief and sustained support to keep Americans afloat and ready to bounce back stronger than ever. We will make good on our promise of an additional $2,000 from the $1,400 that we promised. We will enhance and expand the refundable tax credits for low- and middle-income workers and their families.

Combined, these benefits will provide an average income boost of 33 percent for the poorest 20 percent of American households. This will be life-changing, and it will lift millions of children in this Nation out of poverty.

For families, this bill offers massive savings in childcare expenses, which have been a major barrier to returning to the workforce, particularly for women.

For millions of jobless Americans, we are ensuring that they can afford life's necessities until this economy rebounds by extending pandemic-related unemployment benefits and increasing that benefit.

Access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare is critical, so we have included provisions to contain costs, particularly for unemployed workers. We will include help for nursing homes to crush the virus.

Mr. Speaker, we shored up the multiemployer pension plans, and you should know I am really proud of that as well. Thirty Republicans in this House have voted for this legislation on two different occasions. Those plans were jeopardized by COVID, and we intend to correct that.

Delaying is not an option. This is an opportunity to take bold action that will keep struggling Americans afloat and give them the peace of mind that better days are still to come.

For those who ask, Is this too much?

The answer is, No.

Economists left, right, and center have agreed with what we are about to do. They know that too little is not enough as we fight the pandemic. We will continue to fight the virus like the grave enemy that it is and give people a fighting chance to make it through the pandemic. And we must give them a chance for opportunity as we get to the other side, and that is what we intend to do with this legislation.

I remind my colleagues that this is not the time for partisan rancor. And I

must say that the debate in the Ways and Means Committee was superb. We must go big. We must be bold. And we must rise to this challenge because the American people this evening are counting on us.

Mr. Speaker, I support this plan, and I urge the rest of our colleagues to support it as well, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation providing a technical explanation of section 9674 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and request that the Joint Committee post the letter on their website as well.

Congress of the United States,

Joint Committee on Taxation,

Washington, DC, February 26, 2021.

Hon. Richard E. Neal,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal: You asked the staff of the Joint

Committee on Taxation to prepare a technical explanation of a

provision to modify the exceptions for reporting third party

network transactions provided by Internal Revenue Code

section 6050W. The specific legislative text is new section

9674 of subtitle G of title IX of the American Rescue Plan

Act of 2021, as amended by the proposed manager's amendment.

Enclosed please find the Joint Committee staff's

description of present law and technical explanation of this

proposal.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Barthold,

Chief of Staff.

Enclosure.

Technical Explanation of the Modification of Exceptions of Reporting Third Party Network Transactions in New Section 9674 of Subtitle IX of

the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, as Amended by the Proposed

Manager's Amendment

(Prepared by the Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Feb. 26,

2021)

Modifications of Exceptions for Reporting Third Party Network

Transactions

Present Law

Present law requires persons to file an information return

concerning certain transactions with other persons. The

person filing an information return is also required to

provide the recipient of the payment with a written statement

showing the aggregate payments made and the contact

information for the payor. These returns are intended to

assist taxpayers in preparing their income tax returns and to

help the IRS determine whether such income tax returns are

correct and complete.

Returns relating to payments made in settlement of payment

card and third party network transactions:

Starting in 2012 (for payments received in 2011), payment

settlement entities are required to report the gross amount

of payments made in settlement of payment card transactions

and third party network transactions to the IRS and to

businesses that receive these payments.

Specifically, the statute requires any payment settlement

entity making a payment to a participating payee in

settlement of reportable payment transactions to report

annually to the IRS and to the participating payee the gross

amount of such reportable payment transactions, as well as

the name, address, and TIN of the participating payees. A

``reportable payment transaction'' means any payment card

transaction and any third party network transaction.

A ``payment settlement entity'' means, in the case of a

payment card transaction, a merchant acquiring entity and, in

the case of a third party network transaction, a third party

settlement organization. A ``participating payee'' means, in

the case of a payment card transaction, any person who

accepts a payment card as payment and, in the case of a third

party network transaction, any person who accepts payment

from a third party settlement organization in settlement of

such transaction.

For purposes of the reporting requirement, the term

``merchant acquiring entity'' means a bank or other

organization with the contractual obligation to make payment

to participating payees in settlement of payment card

transactions. A ``payment card transaction'' means any

transaction in which a payment card is accepted as payment? A

``payment card'' is defined as any card (e.g., a credit card

or debit card) which is issued pursuant to an agreement or

arrangement which provides for: (1) one or more issuers of

such cards; (2) a network of persons purpose, unrelated to

each other, and to the issuer, who agree to accept such cards

as payment; and (3) standards and mechanisms for settling the

transactions between the merchant acquiring entities and the

persons who agree to accept such cards as payment. Thus,

under the provision, a bank that enrolls a business to accept

credit cards and contracts with the business to make payment

on credit card transactions is required to report to the IRS

the business's gross credit card transactions for each

calendar year on a Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party

Network Transactions. The bank also is required to provide a

copy of the information report to the business.

The statute also requires reporting on a third party

network transaction. The term

``third party network transaction'' means any transaction

which is settled through a third party payment network. A

``third party payment network'' is defined as any agreement

or arrangement: (1) that involves the establishment of

accounts with a central organization by a substantial number

of persons (e.g., more than 50) who are unrelated to such

organization, provide goods or services, and have agreed to

settle transactions for the provision of such goods or

services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement; (2) that

provides for standards and mechanisms for settling such

transactions; and (3) that guarantees persons providing goods

or services pursuant to such agreement or arrangement that

such persons will be paid for providing such goods or

services. In the case of a third party network transaction,

the payment settlement entity is the third party settlement

organization, which is defined as the central organization

which has the contractual obligation to make payment to

participating payees of third party network transactions.

Thus, an organization generally is required to report if it

provides a network enabling buyers to transfer funds to

sellers who have established accounts with the organization

and have a contractual obligation to accept payment through

the network. However, an organization operating a network

which merely processes electronic payments (such as wire

transfers, electronic checks, and direct deposit payments)

between buyers and sellers, but does not have contractual

agreements with sellers to use such network, is not required

to report. Similarly, an agreement to transfer funds between

two demand deposit accounts will not, by itself, constitute a

third party network transaction.

A third party payment network does not include any

agreement or arrangement that provides for the issuance of

payment cards as defined by the provision. In addition, there

is an exception for de minimis payments that applies to

payments made by third party settlement organizations but not

to payments made by merchant acquiring entities. A third

party settlement organization is not required to report

unless the aggregate value of third party network

transactions with respect to a taxpayer for the year exceeds

$20,000 and the aggregate number of such transactions with

respect to a taxpayer exceeds 200. If a payment of funds is

made to a third party settlement organization by means of a

payment card (i.e., as part of a payment card transaction),

the $20,000 and 200 transaction de minimis rule continues to

apply to any reporting obi igation with respect to payment of

such funds to a participating payee by the third party

settlement organization made as part of a third party network

transaction.

So, for example, if a business that provides a web-based

rental platform for short-term travelers is considered a

third party settlement organization, it does not have to

provide a Form 1099-K to property owners participating on

their web-based site who have received payments of $20,000

or less. On the other hand, if that company is considered

a merchant acquiring entity, it would have to issue a Form

1099-K to all payees participating on its platform who

have received payments of any amount starting with the

first dollar.

There are also reporting requirements on intermediaries who

receive payments from a payment settlement entity and

distribute such payments to one or more participating payees.

Such intermediaries are treated as participating payees with

respect to the payment settlement entity and as payment

settlement entities with respect to the participating payees

to whom the intermediary distributes payments. Thus, for

example, in the case of a corporation that receives payment

from a bank for credit card sales effectuated at the

corporation's independently-owned franchise stores, the bank

is required to report the gross amount of reportable payment

transactions settled through the corporation (notwithstanding

the fact that the corporation does not accept payment cards

and would not otherwise be treated as a participating payee).

In turn, the corporation, as an intermediary, would be

required to report the gross amount of reportable payment

transactions allocable to each franchise store. The bank

would have no reporting obligation with respect to payments

made by the corporation to its franchise stores.

Another rule provides that if a payment settlement entity

contracts with a third party to settle reportable payment

transactions on behalf of the payment settlement entity, the

third party is required to file the annual information return

in lieu of the payment settlement entity.

The payment settlement entity is required to file the

information return to the IRS on or before February 28th

(March 31st if filing electronically) of the year following

the calendar year for which the return must be filed. The

statements are required to be furnished to the participating

payees on or before January 31st of the year following the

calendar year for which the return was required to be made.

The Secretary has exercised authority under these rules to

issue guidance to implement the reporting requirement,

including rules to prevent the reporting of the same

transaction more than once.

The reportable payment transactions subject to information

reporting generally are subject to backup withholding

requirements. In addition, the information reporting

penalties apply for any failure to file a correct information

return or furnish a correct payee statement with respect to

the reportable payment transactions. Any person who is

required to file an information return or furnish a payee

statement but who fails to do so on or before the prescribed

due date is subject to a penalty that varies based on when,

if at all, the correct information return is filed or

furnished. There are penalties imposed for failure to file

the information return, furnish payee statements, or comply

with other various reporting requirements. No penalty is

imposed if the failure is due to reasonable cause. Both the

failure to file and failure to furnish penalties are adjusted

annually to account for inflation.

Explanation of Provision

This provision lowers and modifies the threshold below

which a third party settlement organization is not required

to report payments to participants in its network. Under the

provision, for any calendar year, a third party settlement

organization is required to report third party network

transactions with any participating payee that exceed a

minimum threshold of $600 in aggregate payments, regardless

of the aggregate number of such transactions.

Third party network transactions include any commercial

transactions settled through a third party payment network.

The provision also clarifies that third party network

transactions only include transactions for the provision of

goods or services (e.g., personal gifts, charitable

contributions, and reimbursements are not included).

For example, an individual who has registered for a mobile

payment service and uses such a service to reimburse friends

or relatives for expenses, or on occasion sells a used item

to another person, would not be engaging in transactions that

are subject to reporting requirements. However, if that

individual were to register with such mobile payment service

for the purposes of engaging in commercial transactions, such

as regularly carrying on a trade or business through use of

that service, the mobile payment service would be required to

report under the provision.

Effective Date

The part of the provision that lowers and modifies the

reporting threshold is effective for returns for calendar

years beginning after December 31, 2021.

The part of the provision that clarifies that reporting is

not required on transactions which are not for goods or

services is effective for transactions after the date of

enactment.

Mr. Speaker, let me also note on this proud day that it happens to be the 95th anniversary of the creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation, and throughout its history it has provided the Committee on Ways and Means with invaluable advice, and I suspect that is something we can all agree on.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, the residents of my district and of districts all over America are jumping for joy. They are jumping because they see this bill like manna from heaven. There is money for COVID testing; money for vaccines; money for their pockets; money to help reopen schools; unemployment checks; tax credits for children; money for hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, daycare centers, State, county, and local governments; money for poor families, poor children, homeless youth, small businesses, restaurants, rental assistance and mortgage payments so they can stay in their homes. You name it, Mr. Speaker, it is in this bill.

Joe Biden to the rescue. Thank God for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and especially the people in Georgia. I will vote for this bill. I will vote ``yes.'' Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will vote to rescue and save America.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), a member of the Ways and Means Committee who has had a profound influence on the child credits in this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Let me begin by recognizing the extraordinary work that has gone into this legislation by the Ways and Means Committee staff, the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and many others: Morna Miller, Amy Hall, Kara Getz, Andrew Grossman, Melanie Egorin, and Alice Lin, to name but a few of the superb staff members that we have.

They have worked long hours under immense pressure, all while facing the same challenges of remote school, lack of child care, and concern for family members that Americans everywhere face. There are too many names to include here, but let it be known that your counsel is unparalleled and your expertise is unmatched.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, we recognize that a half a million people have died. Millions have been affected by this dreadful disease. Ten million jobs that were lost have not been returned, and 18 million members of our family are receiving unemployment benefits. People who never imagined that they might be relying on a food bank are lining up weekly, and they are part of the unthinkable number of children that still go hungry as we meet.

With this legislation, we are taking bold action, and, yes, it is sweeping. I want to thank Joe Biden for his courage and vision in helping to bring us to this moment. Yes, it will be costly, but if crushing this virus and ending the suffering that Americans are currently facing, if it is not worth this investment, then I ask: What is?

Over the Speaker's rostrum there is an extraordinary quote by a son of Massachusetts, and I think that it compels us to this moment. Mr. Webster asked, ``Let us develop the resources of our land and call forth its powers and build up its institutions, promote all of its great interests, and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.''

Tonight, as we vote for this legislation, we are going to achieve something that will be worthy to be remembered.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter listing business leaders in support of this bill

180 Business Leaders Sign in Support of the American Rescue Plan

(By Jana Plat, Feb. 24, 2021)

Washington, DC--Today, 180 CEOs issued a public letter to

leaders of Congress, urging rapid, bipartisan adoption of a

stimulus package on the model of the American Rescue Plan.

The following is the text of the letter and the full list of

signatories.

Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, Minority

Leader McConnell and Minority Leader McCarthy: We write to

urge immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address

the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19

pandemic. More than a year after the first coronavirus case

was reported in the United States, our nation is still

struggling to combat the spread and reverse its economic

fallout.

Previous federal relief measures have been essential, but

more must be done to put the country on a trajectory for a

strong, durable recovery. Congress should act swiftly and on

a bipartisan basis to authorize a stimulus and relief package

along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration's proposed

American Rescue Plan.

Strengthening the public health response to coronavirus is

the first step toward economic restoration. The American

Rescue Plan mobilizes a national vaccination program,

delivers economic relief to struggling families, and supports

communities that were most damaged by the pandemic.

More than 10 million fewer Americans are working today than

when the pandemic began, small businesses across the country

are facing bankruptcy, and schools are struggling to reopen.

The most vulnerable Americans--including women, people of

color and low wage workers--are experiencing the worst of the

pandemic, with unprecedented job loss, childcare burdens and

food insecurity. States and cities have been crushed by

pandemic-related expenses and revenue losses.

The American Rescue Plan provides a framework for

coordinated public-private efforts to overcome COVID-19 and

to move forward with a new era of inclusive growth. The

country's business community is prepared to work with you to

achieve these critical objectives.

Sincerely,

Yo Akatsuka, President & CEO, Nomura Holding America Inc.;

Ellen Alemany, Chairman & CEO, CIT Group Inc.; Simon Allen,

Chief Executive Officer, McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.; Jeffrey

H. Aronson, Managing Principal, Centerbridge Partners; Neil

Barr, Managing Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Rich

Barton, Co-Founder & CEO, Zillow; Candace K. Beinecke, Senior

Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP; Charles R. Bendit, Co-

Chief Executive Officer, Taconic Investment Partners LLC;

Stephen Berger, Chairman, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC;

William H. Berkman, Co-Chairman & CEO, Radius Global

Infrastructure, Inc.; Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Executive

Officer, Fiserv; Jeff T. Blau, Chief Executive Officer, The

Related Companies, L.P.; Kathy Bloomgarden, Chief Executive

Officer, Ruder Finn, Inc.; Lora Blum, Chief Legal Officer &

Secretary, Survey Monkey; Adam M. Blumenthal, Managing

Partner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners; John Borthwick, Founder

& CEO, Betaworks; Ari Buchalter, President & CEO,

Intersection.

Martin S. Burger, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein

Properties. Inc.; Chris Cartwright, President & CEO,

TransUnion; Anthony Casalena, Founder & CEO, Squarespace,

Inc.; Timothy Cawley, President & CEO, Con Edison, Inc.;

Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer, Christie's; Brian

Chesky, Co-founder & CEO, Airbnb,

Inc.; H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell

LLP; Maria Colacurcio, Chief Executive Officer, Syndio

Solutions; Richard A.C. Coles. Founder & Managing Partner,

Vanbarton Group LLC; Marc Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, PJ

Solomon, L.P.; R. Cromwell Coulson, President & CEO, OTC

Markets Group; Linda Darr. CEO of the American Council of

Engineering Companies; Todd C. DeGarmo, Chief Executive

Officer, STUDIOS Architecture; Annemarie DiCola, Chief

Executive Officer, Trepp, LLC; William R. Dougherty,

Chairman, Executive Committee, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

LLP; Russell Dubner, President & CEO, Edelman US; Douglas

Durst, Chairman, Durst Organization Inc.; Blair W. Effron,

Co-Founder, Centerview Partners; Joel S. Ehrenkranz, Partner

& Co-Founder, Ehrenkranz Partners L.P.; Douglas F. Eisenberg,

Founder & CEO, A&E Real Estate, LLC; Steven M. Ellis,

Chairman of the Firm, Proskauer.

Helmy Eltoukhy PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Guardant

Health; Alexander Farman-Farmaian, Vice Chairman, Portfolio

Manager, Edgewood Management LLC; Ziel Feldman, Chairman &

Founder, HFZ Capital Group; Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO,

BlackRock; Peter Finn, Founding Partner, Finn Partners; John

Fish, Chairman & CEO, Suffolk; Winston C. Fisher, Partner,

Fisher Brothers; William E. Ford, Chairman & CEO, General

Atlantic LLC; Lynne Fox, Board Chair, Amalgamated Bank; Paul

Fribourg, Chairman & CEO, Continental Grain Company; Ryan

Gellert, CEO, Patagonia; Pat Gelsinger, Chief Executive

Officer, Intel Corporation; Dexter Goei, Chief Executive

Officer, Altice USA; Timothy Gokey, Chief Executive Officer,

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.; Perry Golkin, Chief

Executive Officer, PPC Enterprises LLC; James P. Gorman,

Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley; Barry M. Gosin, Chief

Executive Officer, Newmark; Jonathan N. Grayer, Chairman &

CEO, Weld North LLC; David J. Greenwald, Chairman, Fried,

Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Efraim Grinberg,

Chairman & CEO, Movado Group, Inc.

Stewart KP Gross, Managing Director, Lightyear Capital;

Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways

Corporation; Leslie W. Himmel, Managing Partner, Himmel &

Meringoff Properties, Inc.; Linh Hoang, Chief Executive

Officer, Boston Microfluidics; Barbara Humpton, President &

CEO, Siemens USA; Frederick J. Iseman, Chairman & CEO, CI

Capital Partners LLC; Kenneth M. Jacobs, Chairman & CEO,

Lazard; Jerry Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer, Delaware North

Companies, Inc.; John Josephson, Chairman & CEO, Sesac; Jared

Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer, OppFi; Brad S. Karp, Chair,

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Charles R.

Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Warburg Pincus LLC; Jason

Kelly, Founder & CEO, Gingko Bioworks; Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.,

Chairman & CEO, Visa Inc.; Anthony S. Kendall, Chairman &

CEO, Mitchell & Titus, LLP; Richard A. Kennedy, President &

CEO, Skanska USA Inc.; Michel A. Khalaf, President & CEO,

MetLife, Inc.; Brian Kingston, CEO of Real Estate, Brookfield

Asset Management; Scott Kirby, Chief Executive Officer,

United Airlines.

Kip Kirkpatrick, Co-Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria

Group; Philip Krim, Co-Founder & CEO, Casper; Barbara Armand

Kushner, President, Armand Corporation; Christopher Larsen,

Chief Executive Officer, Halmar International, LLC; Michael

Lastoria, Founder & CEO, &pizza; William P. Lauder, Executive

Chairman, The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc.; Rochelle B.

Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide;

Richard S. LeFrak, Chairman & CEO, The LeFrak Organization;

Rich Lesser, President & CEO, Boston Consulting Group; Max

Levchin, Founder & CEO, Affirm, Inc.; Aaron Levie, Chief

Executive Officer. Box; Jeffrey E. Levine, Chairman,

Douglaston Development; Pamela Liebman, President & CEO, The

Corcoran Group, Inc.; Martin Lipton, Senior Partner,

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Robert P. LoCascio, Founder &

CEO, LivePerson, Inc.; Charles Lowrey, Chairman & CEO,

Prudential Financial; Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer,

Conde Nast.

Mehdi Mahmud, CEO & President, First Eagle Investment

Management, LLC; Anthony Malkin, Chairman, President & CEO,

Empire State Realty Trust; Anthony E. Mann, President & CEO,

E-J Electric Installation Co.; Sandeep Mathrani, Chief

Executive Officer, WeWork; Peter W. May, President & Founding

Partner, Trian Partners; Bill McDermott, President & CEO,

ServiceNow; Tom McGee, President & CEO, International Council

of Shopping Centers; Andrew McMahon, President & CEO, The

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America; Anish Melwani,

Chairman & CEO, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.; Avner

Mendelson, President & CEO, Bank Leumi USA; Heidi Messer, Co-

Founder & Chairperson, Collective[i]; Marc Metrick, President

& CEO, Saks Fifth Avenue; Danny Meyer, Chief Executive

Officer, Union Square Hospitality Group; Michael Miebach,

Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard; Edward J. Minskoff,

Chairman & CEO, Edward J. Minskoff Equities, Inc.; Steve

Mollenkopf, Chief Executive Officer, Qualcomm; Linda Moore,

President & CEO, TechNet; Tyler Morse, Chief Executive

Officer & Managing Partner, MCR Development LLC; Deanna M.

Mulligan, Chief Executive Officer, DM Mulligan, LLC.

Daniel Neal, CEO & Founder, Kajeet; Martin Nesbitt, Co-

Chief Executive Officer, The Vistria Group; Suzanne Neufang,

Chief Executive Officer, Global Business Travel Association;

Liz Neumark, Chair & Founder, Great Performances; Jon

Oringer, Founder & Executive Chairman, Shutterstock, Inc.;

Doug Parker, Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines;

Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global; Michael

Phillips, President, Jamestown Properties LLC; Sundar Pichai,

Chief Executive Officer, Google; Patricia ``Patti'' Poppe,

Chief Executive Officer, PG&E; Penny Pritzker, Chairman, PSP

Partners; Deirdre Quinn, Co-Founder & CEO, Lafayette 148 New

York; Daniel Ramot, Co-Founder & CEO, Via; Scott H. Rechler,

Chairman & CEO, RXR Realty LLC; Jack Remondi, President and

CEO, Navient; Christiana Riley, Chief Executive Officer,

Deutsche Bank Americas; Brian L. Roberts, Chairman & CEO,

Comcast Corporation; Michael Roberts, President & CEO, HSBC

Bank USA; James D. Robinson, II, Co-Founder & General

Partner, RRE Ventures; Robert Roche, Founder & President,

Roche Enterprise.

James A. Rosenthal, Chief Executive Officer, BlueVoyant;

Michael I. Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic Group; Steven

Roth, Chairman & CEO, Vornado Realty Trust; Steven

Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Communications, Inc.;

William C. Rudin, Co-Chairman & CEO, Rudin Management

Company, Inc.; Kevin P. Ryan, Founder & CEO, AlleyCorp; Scott

Salmirs, President & CEO, ABM Industries Inc.; Charles

Scharf, President & CEO, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; Ralph

Schlosstein, Co-Chairman & Co-CEO, Evercore Partners Inc.;

Michael Schmidtberger, Partner & Chair of the Executive

Committee, Sidley Austin LLP; Alan D. Schnitzer, Chairman &

CEO, The Travelers Companies, Inc.; Dan Schulman, President &

CEO, PayPal Holdings, Inc.; Alan D. Schwartz, Executive

Chairman, Guggenheim Partners, LLC; Stephen A. Schwarzman,

Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone.

Frank J. Sciame, Chairman & CEO, Sciame Construction, LLC;

Suzanne Shank, President & CEO, Siebert Williams Shank & Co.

LLC; Tarek Sherif, Co-Founder & CEO, Medidata Solutions,

Inc.; Stanley S. Shuman, Senior Advisor, Allen & Company LLC;

Mike Sievert, Chief Executive Officer, T-Mobile US, Inc.;

Jonathan Silvan, Chief Executive Officer, Global Strategy

Group, LLC; Jacob Silverman, Chief Executive Officer, Kroll;

Joshua Silverman, Chief Executive Officer, Etsy, Inc.; David

M. Solomon, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs; Jeffrey M.

Solomon, Chair & CEO, Cowen; Rob Speyer, President & CEO,

Tishman Speyer; John Stankey, Chief Executive Officer, AT&T;

Robert K. Steel, Chairman, Perella Weinberg Partners; Alan

Suna, Chief Executive Officer, Silvercup Studios; Steven R.

Swartz, President & CEO, Hearst.

Paul J. Taubman, Chairman & CEO, PJT Partners Inc.; Owen D.

Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Boston Properties; Jonathan

Tisch, Chairman & CEO, Loews Hotels & Co.; Daniel R. Tishman,

Vice Chairman, AECOM & Principal, Tishman Realty; Jean-Marie

Tritant, Chief Executive Officer, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield;

Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, Global Markets,

IBM Corporation; Ellis Verdi, President, DeVito/Verdi; Hans

Vestberg, CEO, Verizon; Pamela S. Wasserstein, President, Vox

Media; Philip Waterman II, Managing Partner, WatermanClark;

Charles Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer, EisnerAmper LLP;

David Winter, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Standard Industries

Inc.; Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New

York City; Rudolph M. Wynter, President-Elect, NY, National

Grid; Tony Xu, Chief Executive Officer, DoorDash; Eric Yuan,

Chief Executive Officer, Zoom; Strauss Zelnick, Partner, ZMC;

John Zimmer, Co-Founder & President, Lyft, Inc.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the January 6 insurrectionists did not win. The American Government, the people of the United States, won with a Democratic government that has come to the rescue with the American Rescue Plan.

The long lines will stop. $20 billion for vaccines. Cash-strapped Americans will get $1,400 and extended unemployment. We will recognize that our children will get back to school with $130 billion. They will be able to stay in school. They will be able to regain lost learning. They will be safely in school.

And, yes, a working family, who my friends do not know, a single- parent working full time and making minimum wage of $15,000 will get $9,525, with children under 6, and a child tax credit of $3,600.

Houston will get $650 million; Harris County, $914 million.

This is a rescue. The insurrectionists did not win, but democracy did. The Democrats are on the way to give you help.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1319, the ``American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,'' which provides $1.9 trillion to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long.

To be clear, I would have preferred the version of the American Rescue Plan passed on February 26, 2021 by the House, without a single Republican vote, but the amended version of the legislation is infinitely better than the feeble and disinterested efforts, and callous disregard of the previous Administration to this deadly pandemic.

Mr Speaker, I support the legislation before us because it will put money directly in the pockets of hard-pressed and weary Americans, vaccination shots in their arms, and help put them back to work and their children back in school.

The key differences between the bills passed by the House and Senate are:

1. The Senate-passed bill does not include the $15 an hour minimum wage provisions that were included in the bill passed by the House.

2. The Senate-passed bill reduces to $80,000 the phase-out range for qualification of an individual to receive direct payments under the legislation.

3. The Senate-passed bill extends the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) only through September 6, but it retains the weekly benefit at the current $300 per week, and it also exempts up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits received in 2020 from federal income taxes for households making less than $150,000.

Like the House bill, the Senate-passed bill finishes the job on the President's promise to provide $2,000 per person in direct assistance to households across America with checks of $1,400 per person, following the $600 down payment enacted in December.

The bill will also provide direct housing assistance and nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills and support 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and more than 17 million low-wage childless workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit.

The bill supports communities struggling with the economic fallout by providing, like the House bill, crucial support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination, with economic injury disaster loans (EIDL) grants, expanded PPP eligibility and more.

This legislation provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, and other essential workers.

Finally, and very important, the American Rescue Plan Act establishes the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and provides $45.570 billion in direct funding to major metropolitan cities and local governments.

With our vote today in support of the American Rescue Plan, congressional Democrats and President Biden are making good on our commitment to the American people that help is on the way to crush the virus, open our schools safely, and build back better.

Mr. Speaker, by an overwhelming margin (72 percent), the public wants and is demanding that we act to provide more economic relief to address the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe an additional relief package is necessary, while more than nine in ten (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic leaders say more coronavirus aid will be needed.

Even the most conservative Republicans favor more relief by a 56 percent-44 percent margin.

Nearly nine-in-ten of all adults (88 percent) in lower-income households say an additional package is necessary, while 81 percent of Republicans in lower-income households (81 percent) say additional aid is needed now.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put food on the table, by expanding the SNAP program and respecting Black family farmers.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put people back to work by prioritizing funding for transit, airlines and airports, and the disaster relief fund.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put a priority on protecting renters and homeowners, preventing homelessness, and providing $10 billion for the Defense Production Act to procure essential medical supplies and equipment.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put money in people's pockets with direct payments, Unemployment Insurance, Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and includes pension security and expanded Affordable Care Act coverage.

The American Rescue Plan Act will provide $17 billion in critical funding to help the VA meet the health and economic security of veterans, especially as relates to the benefits claims and appeals backlog caused by COVID-19.

The American Rescue Plan Act will produce and distribute the vaccine and test, treat and protect all Americans, including communities of color.

The American Rescue Plan Act will provides desperately needed funding for our heroes--health care workers, first responders, sanitation, transportation and food workers, and teachers--in states, localities, tribes, and territories.

Let me speak briefly about another crucially important feature of the legislation we will pass today.

The American Rescue Plan Act establishes the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and provides $45.570 billion in direct funding to major metropolitan cities and local governments.

In my home state of Texas, metropolitan cities are estimated to receive $10.327 billion in direct coronavirus relief funding, while the state of Texas is slated to receive $16.824 billion, for an estimated $27.152 billion total to the state of Texas.

During the Budget Committee markup, I proposed, and the Committee agreed that any effort to strip or reduce this vital funding is to be rejected so major metropolitan cities, like Houston, receive the direct COVID-19 relief funding desperately needed to battle the coronavirus, restore critical services to struggling families, and help save the jobs of essential public servants like teachers, firefighters, and other first responders.

Let me discuss briefly why direct funding to major metropolitan cities and counties is so critical.

The purpose of providing for direct payment to major metropolitan cities like Houston and counties like Harris County, as opposed to the County having to receive an allocation from the State, is so that the local governments, who are in the best position to identify and respond, will be able to tailor the funding to meet the urgent needs of their communities.

For example, under the direct payment provisions in the CARES Act, Harris County received more federal funding relative to the amount that would have been received through the State program and had the flexibility needed for more efficient use of this funding, which was a concern voiced even by State leaders over the restrictive way that the State of Texas distributed CARES Act funding.

By directly allocating funding to metropolitan cities and areas like Houston and Harris County, local authorities can work with the community to determine the specific needs of Harris County residents.

As a result, Harris County Commissioners Court approved, for example, the following

programs to directly address community needs, and to get money into the hands of residents quickly:

1. Commissioners Court funded Community Programs

2. Census Services

3. Childcare Assistance Program

4. Court Evictions Services

5. COVID 19 Workforce Development Program

6. Direct Assistance Programs

7. Domestic Violence Assistance Fund

8. Rental Assistance Programs

9. Small Business Loan Program (LEAP)

10. Small Business Relief Fund

11. Small Cities Support

12. Student Digital Services

13. UT Health Community Spread Survey Program

Without direct payments to major metropolitan cities, state governments--as we saw here in Texas--would not have permitted CARES Act funding to be used to create or support any of these programs.

In addition, without direct payments to major metropolitan cities and government units, states invariably will succumb to the temptation to place onerous conditions on funding over and above those required by the Federal government.

For example, in Texas, only $55 per capita was allocated to nondirect allocation entities, instead of the $174.49 per capita that was allocated to them by Congress.

Additionally, only 20% of the allocation was made available immediately to local entities instead of making 100 percent of the allocation available immediately.

Third, direct funding is necessary to prevent state governments from creating specific categories limiting eligibility for medical expenses, public health expenses, payroll expenses for employees in the fields of public safety, public health, health care, human services, or whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Without direct payments to major metropolitan cities, state governments, again as we have seen in Texas, will limit recovery for expenditures to support actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related public health measures or associated with the provision of economic support in connection with the COVID-19, or other COVID-19 related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the fund's eligibility criteria.

I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.''

The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote:

``The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.''

Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire on March 14, 2021.

That is why the American Rescue Plan Act is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do and to do right now.

The American Rescue Plan Act proposed by President Biden takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

No one is better prepared or more experienced to lead the American rescue than President Biden, who as Vice-President oversaw the implementation of the Recovery Act, which saved millions of jobs and rescued our economy from the Great Recession the Obama Administration and the nation inherited from a previous Republican administration.

And let us not forget that President Obama also placed his confidence in his vice-president to oversee the rescue of the automotive industry, which he did so well that the American car industry fully recovered its status as the world leader.

Mr. Speaker, to crush the virus and safely reopen schools, the American Rescue Plan Act will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools.

It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities.

The American Rescue Plan Act delivers immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000.

Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits.

Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan Act provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination.

Finally, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic, as did the videos of the unjustified killings of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmed Arbrey, and so many others, laid bare for the nation to see the stark racial and ethnic inequalities exacerbated by the virus.

In my home state of Texas, as of the end of September 2020, there have been more than 760,000 cases of COVID-19 and 16,000 deaths.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Care Services, 70 percent of the confirmed fatalities were people of color.

In Texas, COVID-19 mortality rates are 30 percent higher for African Americans and 80 percent higher for Hispanics overall.

The differences become much larger when accounting for age; for example, in the 25 to 44-year-old age group, African American mortality rates are more than four times higher than White rates, and the Hispanic rates are more than seven times higher.

One factor in Hispanic and African American populations being more likely to contract COVID-19 is employment in occupations associated with public contact and that cannot be done remotely.

The sad fact is that most workers in these occupations are less able to be absent from their job or to have paid time off.

In Texas, people of color make up more than 40 percent of cashiers, retail salespersons, child care workers, licensed practical nurses, more than 50 percent of bus drivers and transit workers, medical and nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides, and more than 60 percent of building cleaners and housekeepers.

In addition, Hispanic and African American populations in Texas are less likely to have health insurance and to have a regular health care provider, so less likely to seek or receive early care for symptoms, especially in the first months of the epidemic.

And African American and Hispanic populations are also more likely to have an underlying health condition that makes them more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19.

To respond and mitigate the devastation wrought by COVID-19 on Americans, and especially marginal and vulnerable communities of color, I have introduced H.R. 330, the ``Delivering Covid-19 Vaccinations to All Regions and Vulnerable Communities Act'' or ``COVID-19 Delivery Act,'' which I invite all Members to join as sponsors.

Under the COVID-19 Delivery Act, FEMA will be authorized and directed to lead the effort for vaccine delivery from the receipt from manufacturing facilities to delivery to designated inoculation sites (hospital, clinic, doctors' offices, school, places of worship, community centers, parks, or neighborhood gathering locations).

The legislation directs FEMA to develop and deploy a fully staffed and resourced 24-7 advanced real-time tracking system that allows FEMA to monitor shipments of vaccine units that can provide end-to-end transparency on the temperature, real-time location, origin, and destination data, anticipated time of arrival, and report on changes and update recipients on the progress of their delivery and report on changes that may impact expected delivery or the viability of the vaccine while in transit.

FEMA will provide an advanced communication system that allows public health departments to communicate their vaccine readiness, capability of receiving vaccines, delivery locations, details of facility capability of storing, securing, personnel authorized to receive deliveries, logistics for delivering vaccines to patients, report on vaccine receipts, condition of vaccines, patient reactions, feedback on how to improve the process.

H.R. 330 authorizes FEMA to secure transportation for delivery or use of vaccines, and, when requested, security for the vaccine delivery sites or inoculation locations to ensure the life and safety of personnel and patients who seek to provide or receive vaccinations are free of interference or threat.

Finally, the COVID-19 Delivery Act directs FEMA to conduct public education and patient engagement through the provision of inoculations of persons in areas and locations where vulnerable populations are under performing in getting vaccinations.

Mr. Speaker, I see the disparities in the lives of so many of my constituents who suffer disproportionately from medical conditions that make COVID-19 deadly.

They work low wage or no wage jobs to make ends meet, and they have no health insurance and rely on community health centers or public health services for routine care.

I call them friends and neighbors because they are that to me.

No one is benefiting from the COVID-19 economy.

The U.S. poverty rate has grown at a historic rate over the past five months, with 7.8 million Americans falling into poverty after the expanded $600 a week in unemployment assistance expired at the end of July.

This represents the greatest increase since the government began tracking poverty sixty years ago.

In the city of Houston, nine key service sectors, accounting for 70 percent of all jobs, hemorrhaged more 1,343,600 jobs, which to average folks is another way of saying that more than 1.34 million persons lost their livelihoods.

Houston workers lost jobs in the following areas:

Healthcare: 391,000;

Retail: 303,600;

Food services: 267,000;

Finance: 166,000;

Private Education: 63,400;

Arts and Entertainment: 37,400;

Accommodations: 28,700;

Air Transportation: 20,200;

Other Services: 115,800.

In addition to these positions, jobs were also lost in other areas, the largest of which was the construction industry, which shut down 30,700 jobs.

Professional and business services followed, with 25,300 jobs lost, although 13,900 were in temporary and provisional jobs in employment services; upstream oil lost 12,300 in March/April; and non-oil manufacturing lost 7,700 jobs.

Americans out of work due to COVID-19 have generated 86 million jobless claims, with new claims being filed in recent weeks topping 800,000.

Millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic have fallen thousands of dollars behind on rent and utility bills, a clear warning sign that people are running out of money for basic needs.

If this is not enough evidence of what is happening just look at the miles of vehicles lined up outside of food distribution centers for assistance, as we see nightly on our television screens and in our communities.

Moody's Analytics warned in November 2020 that 9 million renters said they were behind on rent, according to a Census Bureau survey.

The Bureau of the Census reports that twenty-one percent of all renters are behind on their rent, of which twenty-nine percent are African American families and seventeen percent are Hispanic households.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's analysis of persons who were employed prior to the pandemic, 1.3 million of these households are now, on average of $5,400 in debt on rent and utilities, after the family breadwinners lost their jobs.

The new COVID-19 relief legislation passed last week by Congress and reluctantly but finally signed by the Senate restores unemployment assistance, but cuts that assistance from $600 a week to $300 a week without consideration of the facts on the ground, which are that millions of Americans remain out of work due to COVID-19 public health policy, and have been without sufficient income since August 1, 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that as of February 23, 2021, 28.3 million cases of COVID-19, resulting in more than 503,000 deaths, had been reported in the United States.

What the costs will be to our nation from this destruction of lives and livelihoods have yet to be fully calculated.

It is a tragedy that too many households who have lost a member to COVID-19 are struggling to accept these deaths, but it is also the friends, co-workers, business owners, professionals, students, teachers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, and grandparents who also are feeling these losses because someone that mattered to them is no longer here.

Each of these lives impacted dozens of other lives, too many of whom were not allowed to be present with them during their final moments on this earth, but whose suffering is too often overlooked because we unduly preoccupy ourselves with only the immediate family.

I strongly support the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage and to send the message to the American people that their voices have been heard, their request for assistance answered, and that help is on the way.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, on the Budget, and as the Member of Congress for a congressional district that has experienced the worst of the COVID-19 as a public health emergency and economic catastrophe, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1319, the ``American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,'' which provides $1.9 trillion to take immediate and decisive action to crush the virus and vaccinate our people, build the economy back better, reopen schools, and provide needed support and assistance to state and local governments that have been asked to do too much with too little for far too long.

Mr. Speaker, by an overwhelming margin (72 percent), the public wants and is demanding that we act to provide more economic relief to address the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe an additional relief package is necessary, while more than nine in ten (92 percent) Democrats and Democratic leaners say more coronavirus aid will be needed.

Even the most conservative Republicans favor more relief by a 56 percent-44 percent margin.

Nearly nine-in-ten of all adults (88 percent) in lower-income households say an additional package is necessary, while 81 percent of Republicans in lower-income households (81 percent) say additional aid is needed now.

The American Rescue Plan Act delivers that aid and does it in a way that will crush the coronavirus and build the economy back better.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put children safely back in schools with a strong $170 billion investment and putting money in workers' pockets by raising the federal minimum wage.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put food on the table, by expanding the SNAP program and respecting Black family farmers.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put people back to work by prioritizing funding for transit, airlines and airports, and the disaster relief fund.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put small businesses back on track with robust funding for EIDL and restaurant grants, additional funding for shuttered live venues and expanded PPP eligibility for nonprofits.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put a priority on protecting renters and homeowners, preventing homelessness, and providing $10 billion for the Defense Production Act to procure essential medical supplies and equipment.

The American Rescue Plan Act will put money in people's pockets, with direct payments, Unemployment Insurance, Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and includes pension security and expanded Affordable Care Act coverage.

The American Rescue Plan Act will provide $17 billion in critical funding to help the VA meet the health and economic security of veterans, especially as it relates to the benefits claims and appeals backlog caused by COVID-19.

The American Rescue Plan Act will produce and distribute the vaccine to test, treat and protect all Americans, including communities of color.

The American Rescue Plan Act will provides desperately needed funding for our heroes--health care workers, first responders, sanitation, transportation and food workers, and teachers--in states, localities, tribes, and territories.

Finally, and very importantly, the American Rescue Plan Act establishes the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and provides $45.570 billion the legislation provides in direct funding to major metropolitan cities and local governments.

In my home state of Texas, metropolitan cities are estimated to receive $10.327 billion in direct coronavirus relief funding, while the state of Texas is slated to receive $16.824 billion, for an estimated $27.152 billion total to the state of Texas.

During the Budget Committee markup, I proposed, and the Committee agreed that any effort to strip or reduce this vital funding is to be rejected so major metropolitan cities, like Houston, receive the direct COVID-19 relief funding desperately needed to battle the coronavirus, restore critical services to struggling families, and help save the jobs of essential public servants like teachers, firefighters, and other first responders.

Let me discuss briefly why direct funding to major metropolitan cities and counties is so critical.

The purpose of providing for direct payment to major metropolitan cities like Houston and counties like Harris County, as opposed to the County having to receive an allocation from the State, is so that the local governments, who are in the best position to identify and respond, will be able to tailor the funding to meet the urgent needs of their communities.

For example, under the direct payment provisions in the CARES Act, Harris County received more federal funding relative to the amount that would have been received through the State program and had the flexibility needed for more efficient use of this funding, which was a concern voiced even by State leaders over the restrictive way that the State of Texas distributed CARES Act funding.

By directly allocating funding to metropolitan cities and areas like Houston and Harris County, local authorities were and can work with the community to determine the specific needs of Harris County residents.

As a result, Harris County Commissioners Court approved, for example, the following programs to directly address community needs, and to get money into the hands of residents quickly:

1. Commissioners Court funded Community Programs

2. Census Services

3. Childcare Assistance Program

4. Court Evictions Services

5. COVID 19 Workforce Development Program

6. Direct Assistance Programs

7. Domestic Violence Assistance Fund

8. Rental Assistance Programs

9. Small Business Loan Program (LEAP)

10. Small Business Relief Fund

11. Small Cities Support

12. Student Digital Services

13. UT Health Community Spread Survey Program

Without direct payments to major metropolitan cities, state governments--as we saw here in Texas--would not have permitted CARES Act funding to be used to create or support any of these programs.

In addition, without direct payments to major metropolitan cities and government units, states invariably will succumb to the temptation to place onerous conditions on funding over and above those required by the Federal government.

For example, in Texas, only $55 per capita was allocated to non- direct allocation entities, instead of the $174.49 per capita that was allocated to them by Congress.

Additionally, only 20 percent of the allocation made available immediately to local entities instead of making 100 percent of the allocation available immediately.

Third, direct funding is necessary to prevent state governments from creating specific categories limiting eligibility for medical expenses, public health expenses, payroll expenses for employees in the fields of public safety, public health, health care, human services, or whose services are substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Without direct payments to major metropolitan cities, state governments, again as we have seen in Texas, will limit recovery for expenditures to support actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related public health measures or associated with the provision of economic support in connection with the COVID-19, or other COVID-19 related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the fund's eligibility criteria.

I would urge my Republican colleagues to heed the words of Republican Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia who said colorfully just a few days ago, ``At this point in time in this nation, we need to go big. We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move. And move forward and move right now.''

The same sentiment was expressed more eloquently by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when he memorably wrote:

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

Mr. Speaker, the bipartisan action we took last December was a step in the right direction but only a long-delayed down payment; we cannot afford any more delays, especially since Republican stalling already caused a painful lapse in critical unemployment assistance last year, and additional unemployment assistance is set to expire on March 14, 2021.

That is why the American Rescue Plan Act is absolutely crucial and the right thing to do and to do right now.

The American Rescue Plan Act proposed by President Biden, takes a multiprong approach to tackling the public health and economic crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

No one is better prepared or more experienced to lead the American rescue that President Biden, who as Vice-President oversaw

the implementation of the Recovery Act, which saved millions of jobs and rescued our economy from the Great Recession the Obama Administration and the nation inherited from a previous Republican administration.

And let us not forget that President Obama also placed his confidence in his vice-president to oversee the rescue of the automotive industry, which he did so well that the American car industry fully recovered its status as the world leader.

Mr. Speaker, to crush the virus and safely reopen schools, the American Rescue Plan Act will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and makes the investments necessary to safely reopen schools.

It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments, and addressing health care disparities.

The American Rescue Plan Act delivers immediate relief to working I families bearing the brunt of the crisis by providing $1,400 per person in direct cash assistance to households across America, bringing the total (including the $600 down payment enacted in December) to $2,000.

Additionally, the plan will also provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families struggling to get by, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend and expand unemployment insurance so American workers can pay their bills, and give families with children as well as childless workers a boost through enhanced tax credits.

Mr. Speaker, the American Rescue Plan Act provides much needed support for communities struggling with the economic fallout, including hard-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination.

Finally, the plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers, and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic, as did the videos of the unjustified killings of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmed Arbrey, and so many others, laid bare for the nation to see the stark racial and ethnic inequalities exacerbated by the virus.

In my home state of Texas, as of the end of September 2020, there have been more than 760,000 cases of COVID-19 and 16,000 deaths.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Care Services, 70 percent of the confirmed fatalities were people of color.

In Texas, COVID-19 mortality rates are 30 percent higher for African Americans and 80 percent higher for Hispanics overall.

The differences become much larger when accounting for age; for example, in the 25 to 44-year-old age group, African American mortality rates are more than four times higher than White rates, and the Hispanic rates are more than seven times higher.

One factor in Hispanic and African American populations being more likely to contract COVID-19 is employment in occupations associated with public contact and that cannot be done remotely.

The sad fact is that most workers in these occupations are less able to be absent from their job or to have paid time off.

In Texas, people of color are more than 40 percent of cashiers, retail salespersons, child care workers, licensed practical nurses, more than 50 percent of bus drivers and transit workers, medical and nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides, and more than 60 percent of building cleaners and housekeepers.

In addition, Hispanic and African American populations in Texas are less likely to have health insurance and to have a regular health care provider, so less likely to seek or receive early care for symptoms, especially in the first months of the epidemic.

And African American and Hispanic populations are also more likely to have an underlying health condition that makes them more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19.

To respond and mitigate the devastation wrought by COVID-19 on Americans, and especially marginal and vulnerable communities of color, I have introduced H.R. 330, the ``Delivering COVID-19 Vaccinations to All Regions and Vulnerable Communities Act'' or ``COVID-19 Delivery Act,'' which I invite all Members to join as sponsors.

Under the COVID-19 Delivery Act, FEMA will be authorized and directed to lead the effort for vaccine delivery from the receipt from manufacturing facilities to delivery to designated inoculation sites (hospital, clinic, doctors' offices, school, places of worship, community centers, parks, or neighborhood gathering locations.

The legislation directs FEMA to develop and deploy a fully staffed and resourced 24-7 advanced real-time tracking system that allows FEMA to monitor shipments of vaccine units that can provide end-to-end transparency on the temperature, real-time location, origin, and destination data, anticipated time of arrival, and report on changes and update recipients on the progress of their delivery and report on changes that may impact expected delivery or the viability of the vaccine while in transit.

FEMA will provide an advanced communication system that allows public health departments to communicate their vaccine readiness, capability of receiving vaccines, delivery locations, details of facility capability of storing, securing, personnel authorized to receive deliveries, logistics for delivering vaccines to patients, report on vaccine receipts, condition of vaccines, patient reactions, feedback on how to improve the process.

H.R. 330 authorizes FEMA to secure transportation for delivery or use of vaccines, and, when requested, security for the vaccine delivery sites or inoculation locations to ensure the life and safety of personnel and patients who seek to provide or receive vaccinations are free of interference or threat.

Finally, the COVID-19 Delivery Act directs FEMA to conduct public education and patient engagement through the provision of inoculations of persons in areas and locations where vulnerable populations are under performing in getting vaccinations.

Mr. Speaker, I see the disparities in the lives of so many of my constituents who suffer disproportionately from medical conditions that make COVID-19 deadly.

They work low wage or no wage jobs to make ends meet, and they have no health insurance and rely on community health centers or public health services for routine care.

I call them friends and neighbors because they are that to me.

No one is benefiting from the COVID-19 economy.

The U.S. poverty rate has grown at a historic rate over the past five months, with 7.8 million Americans falling into poverty after the expanded $600 a week in unemployment assistance expired at the end of July.

This represents the greatest increase since the government began tracking poverty sixty years ago.

In the city of Houston, nine key service sectors, accounting for 70 percent of all jobs, hemorrhaged more 1,343,600 jobs, which to average folks is another way of saying that more than 1.34 million persons lost their livelihoods.

Houston workers lost jobs in the following areas:

Healthcare: 391,000; Retail: 393,600; Food services: 267,000; Finance: 166,000; Private Education: 63,400; Arts and Entertainment: 37,400; Accommodations: 28,700; Air Transportation: 20,200; Other Services: 115,800.

In addition to these positions, jobs were also lost in other areas, the largest of which was the construction industry, which shut down 30,700 jobs.

Professional and business services followed, with 25,300 jobs lost, although 13,900 were in temporary and provisional jobs in employment services; upstream oil lost 12,300 in March/April; and non-oil manufacturing lost 7,700 jobs.

Americans out of work due to COVID-19 have generated 86 million jobless claims, with new claims being filed in recent weeks topping 800,000.

Millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic have fallen thousands of dollars behind on rent and utility bills, a clear warning sign that people are running out of money for basic needs.

If this is not enough evidence of what is happening just look at the miles of vehicles lined up outside of food distribution centers for assistance, we see nightly on our television screens and in our communities.

Moody's Analytics warned in November 2020 that 9 million renters said they were behind on rent, according to a Census Bureau survey.

The Bureau of the Census reports that twenty-one percent of all renters are behind on their rent, of which twenty-nine percent are African American families and seventeen percent are Hispanic households.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's analysis of persons who were employed prior to the pandemic, 1.3 million of these households are now, on average of $5,400 in debt on rent and utilities, after the family breadwinners lost their jobs.

The new COVID-19 relief legislation passed last week by Congress, and reluctantly but finally signed by President Trump restores unemployment assistance, but cuts that assistance from $600 a week to $300 a week without consideration of the facts on the ground, which are that millions of Americans remain out of work due to COVID-19 public health policy, and have been without sufficient income since August 1, 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that as of February 23, 2021, 28.3 million cases of COVID-19, resulting in more than 503,000 deaths, had been reported in the United States.

What the costs will be to our nation from this destruction of lives and livelihoods have yet to be fully calculated.

It is a tragedy that too many households who have lost a member to COVID-19 are struggling to accept these deaths, but it is also the friends, co-workers, business owners, professionals, students, teachers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, and grandparents who also are feeling these losses because someone that mattered to them is no longer here.

Each of these lives impacted dozens of other lives, too many of whom were not allowed to be present with them during their final moments on this earth, but whose suffering is too often overlooked because we unduly preoccupy ourselves with only the immediate family.

I strongly support H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and urge all Members to join me in voting for its passage.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to thank Congressman Jason Smith for his work as the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Democrats in the House are excited because all their work has even transpired all the way to Nevada, because now the socialist Democratic wing of the party has taken over there as well.

From H.R. 1 to voting to defund the police, House Democrats have abandoned any pretense of unity. They passed three major bills in one month with zero bipartisan support.

Today, they plan to pass another. Like the others, it represents a missed opportunity for Congress to focus on the real needs of the American people. At $1.9 trillion in new spending, the so-called American Rescue Plan is the most expensive single bill in American history.

Let's put that number in context, Mr. Speaker. If you put it in today's numbers, World War II cost our government $4.8 trillion. But if we pass this bill, our country's total relief, COVID relief, spending will now total $5.5 trillion. This so-called relief bill will end up costing every hardworking taxpayer in America more than $5,000 each. You send the government your tax dollars, but you only get a fraction of what you pay for, at the very best.

You know, we warn people on the internet about email scams. It is like one of those emails where you get a promise you will get millions of dollars, but first you have to wire them some money. That is exactly what is happening here today.

This is the reality of the bill before us. It showers money on special interests, but spends less than 9 percent on actually defeating the virus. But it gives San Francisco $600 million, essentially wiping out 92 percent of their budget deficit.

Think about that: 9 percent on the virus. But, Mr. Speaker, San Francisco, the home to our Speaker, gets to wipe out 92 percent of their budget deficit.

Where does that money come from?

Well, every American is now going to pay more than $5,000 so we can send it to San Francisco and give them 92 percent of their budget deficit. Interesting how socialism works.

In both the House and the Senate, the only bipartisan vote has been against this. And after five relief bills, it is on track to be the first passed by strictly party lines.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard people across the country say this bill today is costly, corrupt, and liberal. Now even the Biden White House agrees: It is very liberal. They called this the most progressive piece of legislation in history.

For those who are watching, progressive means socialism, the same party that runs here, and now the Democratic Party of Nevada is the socialist Democratic Party.

So let's be clear. This isn't a rescue bill. It isn't a relief bill. It is a laundry list of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families. No wonder even House Democrats have said they are embarrassed by what is in it. And just this week, one of their own Members said, ``There is no question there is some waste in there.'' But they will still vote for it anyway.

In fact, if you are a member of the swamp, you do pretty well under this bill. But for the American people, it means serious problems immediately on the horizon.

Consider this: Mr. Speaker, it will only be Democrats who vote for this bill that will cause $36 billion in cuts to Medicare starting this year. What they choose to do is cut Medicare to those who need it and send $600 million to San Francisco to pay for 92 percent of their budget deficit.

Or consider K-12 education. Democrats say they need $130 billion to reopen schools, but their bill only allocates $6 billion to help schools this fiscal year. Two-thirds of the total funding for education won't even be spent until 2023 or later.

But don't worry, San Francisco will get their money now. The schools need to wait. You have priorities.

Do Democrats expect schools to reopen 2 years from now?

I guess that is what they are saying with this bill. They have no plan to get children back in the classroom full time.

This week marks the 1-year anniversary of school districts across the country switching to school behind a screen. We still don't know the full effects of this decision, but we do know keeping classrooms closed has created an education and mental health problem for students and parents. It has been a lost year for our children's education. And even more devastating, one in four young adults has struggled with suicidal thoughts.

Experience and scientific evidence say reopen schools now. It is necessary and it is safe.

Mr. Speaker, the last time this bill was on the floor, we offered an amendment to take that money for that subway just outside of San Francisco and put that money for the children's mental health and others. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, all the Democrats said was, no; that subway by San Francisco was more important.

But, fortunately, we were able to remove that from the bill in the Senate. But luckily here, all the Democrats were able to think the priority is not children; it was San Francisco. But because Democrats are following the demands of special interests, not science, they are telling children to wait with no end in sight.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud the Democrats on the other side because they put their money where their mouth is. They are telling the American public: First give me $5,000. I know you have to work harder, but what I am going to do--because this is how socialism works, the Democrats are now going to decide who should get that money. And you know what? At least they give it to the people they respect the most.

So let's go through this. Compared to the subsidies for the swamp, Democrats want to give Federal employees, who have not been laid off, an extra $21,000 to help cope with virtual schooling. But if you are in the private sector or if you have been laid off, you don't get any of that. But what they want to do is take the money from you, give it to any Federal employee, who gets a bonus of $21,000, even though they have never been laid off work.

So if you are in Washington, in the swamp, you are part of the team. If you are a hardworking taxpayer, sorry, you just send a bill. But if you are in San Francisco, we are going to help pay for your deficit.

What does it say to the millions of mothers and fathers who had to quit their job to take care of their kids at home or in school? Or compare that to Title X. This bill will allow organizations like Planned Parenthood to access $50 million.

You know, Mr. Speaker, for decades in this body we respected one another's opinion. We created the Hyde amendment that said we would not use taxpayer funds for abortion, but when there is a pandemic and a socialist reign, we are going to charge you $5,000 regardless of how you feel about it, and that is where the money is going to be spent.

Now, the Democrats believe schools should wait a couple years to get their money, but not Planned Parenthood. We have to get that money there quick.

Or compare it to how we fund States, Mr. Speaker. We have always had a formula, but, Mr. Speaker, now that we are going to do the bill this way where there is only one-party rule, we are going to change the formula of how States can get their money.

So let's analyze that. Democrats claim States and local governments need $350 billion.

Now, where do they get that number?

Well, if they read the headlines, it would confirm States are not in financial distress. Nearly half saw an increase in revenue last year. And some, even including my home State of California, they have a budget surplus.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I understand in Washington they maybe don't understand what the word ``surplus'' means; that means you have more money, that you actually saved money. What California is going to get is a windfall.

Remember, San Francisco is in California. Mr. Speaker, that just happens to be the Speaker's district, as well. They have a $650 million deficit.

Now, some of the challenges that San Francisco has--you see, if you are in San Francisco and you are homeless, they will pay for your alcohol and they will pay for your cannabis. So it costs more money. So that is why you have a deficit.

But it is okay because we don't need to send the schools money today, we can send that years from now, but we need to get San Francisco 92 percent of their deficit taken care of.

Now, we have a pandemic going on, and we are going to spend $1.9 trillion, but only 9 percent of that needs to go to COVID because San Francisco needs a lot of money.

So what they have done now is they reward bad behavior. That is one of the few places that is facing a shortfall. They are actually punishing States that did it right. American taxpayers didn't vote for this, but thanks to the blue State payout, they are. The bill rewards bad behavior.

Now, President Biden, he hasn't had a press conference, but he did say one time, and someone picked it up, ``Show me what to cut.''

Well, the Senate actually cut tens of billions of dollars in spending from the Biden bill that the House passed.

Now, I feel bad, Mr. Speaker, because Speaker Pelosi at first had, like, $112 million for that really important COVID subway just outside of San Francisco. Now, before that bill was able to get to the floor and the public found out about it--I guess it got good press because they added more money to it--it got to $140 million.

Now, when it came to the floor here, there was a group of people-- well, Mr. Speaker, let's just say who it was, it was the Republicans, they thought a better priority was to spend that $140 million for children with mental health issues because we have watched study after study of children being left out of school; suicide, obesity.

What about those children who have parents who don't work for the Federal Government? They don't get a bonus. And some of those parents had to quit their job to care for their children.

So Republicans thought--I know it is a small amount compared to $1.9 trillion--we thought, wouldn't that be a better use of the money? So we offered

that on this floor, Mr. Speaker. But unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Democrats said ``no'' to that, that this subway was more important than the children.

Well, luckily on the Senate side, they took that out. Whoa, Mr. Speaker, the American public thought for one moment maybe the price could get a little lower and that Americans wouldn't have to pay $5,000 a person. Maybe they saved a little money. No, no, no, no, no.

You see, Mr. Speaker, the Democrats are in charge of the Senate, too, so they now decided since they couldn't build a subway, they would just plus that money up.

So where did they spend it? Well, Mr. Speaker, you have got to give them credit. They took the same advice that the Democrats in the House had. You see, they added an extra $25,000 bonus for State employees. Let's just not reward the employees of the Federal Government that haven't been laid off, let's reward the State employees who haven't been laid off. They get a $25,000 bonus.

Isn't that amazing? I wonder where the money comes from?

Oh, yes, Mr. Speaker, it comes from the American people, the hardworking taxpayers. You see, they all need to send the government $5,000 so you can decide where to spend it. And if you are part of the swamp, that is a pretty good reward. $25,000.

And then they added $15 billion for taxpayer-funded healthcare subsidies that illegal immigrants are eligible for.

Now, you know this, Mr. Speaker, based upon your district and others, you know what is happening down at the border. President Biden has created a new border crisis. There are more people able to come in, not being tested for COVID, but lo and behold, they are now going to get subsidized healthcare. Luckily, we can spend more money on that, Mr. Speaker. There is probably much more coming now with the Biden border crisis.

But will this help the people get back to work? Nope.

Will this help students get back in the classroom? Nope.

But will it help vaccines get to those who want it? Nope.

But will it help take care of 92 percent of San Francisco's budget deficit?

Oh, yes, it will. Yes, it will.

It just throws out money without accountability even though there are a trillion dollars sitting there right now that have already been appropriated that can go out to help.

Remember what Margaret Thatcher said, Mr. Speaker: ``The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.'' You have been doing a very good job of it so far.

There is still work to do to defeat the virus, but it is clear we are nearing the final phase of the fight. For 12 terrible months, the American worker has struggled through lockdowns, sacrificed through closures, and suffered through mandates. They persevered through it all. And now their government wants to take $5,000 more of it to make sure a Federal employee that wasn't laid off, a State employee that wasn't laid off gets bonuses. And lo and behold, we have got to make sure San Francisco gets their deficit taken care of. Not in 2 years like the schools, but today.

President Trump's Operation Warp Speed, previous bipartisan efforts in Congress, and the American people worked tirelessly toward that outcome. President Biden was set up for success both economically and with vaccines, but in that short amount of time what have they been able to accomplish down at the Biden administration? They have raised our gasoline prices, so not only are you asking them to pay for this bill, you are taking more out of their pocket, and at the same time by a stroke of a pen he laid off millions of those workers.

Mr. Speaker, I know this for sure, I know where you serve, and I know your passion for serving. I know the people in your district that are getting laid off for the XL pipeline. I know that wasn't your wish. It is harder to pay a bigger tax bill when you don't have a job.

It is even worse when that job was taken away by your President.

It is even worse when you go out to look for a new job and that same President has changed the policy along the border, and now you are competing with people who are not even Americans; and they are getting subsidized healthcare because of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the American public wants something different. I believe they are proud of the fact we did something here that was bipartisan.

I believe they were proud of the fact that because of Operation Warp Speed we now have three vaccines.

I believe they were proud when we were energy independent.

I believe they were proud when they had more money in their pocket, and they didn't have to pay so much for gasoline.

Mr. Speaker, socialism has destroyed many countries. I just watched Venezuela offer new currency. What was it, a million, a billion dollars is worth 50 cents today? How did it all start? I have watched socialism grow in this country. I have watched it grow in this body. I see within your own party you no longer even fear to say that you are Democrats anymore, Mr. Speaker. You are socialist Democrats. That is the lead of the Democratic party. Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee isn't even registered as a Democrat. So what would you think would be produced?

Mr. Speaker, whoever votes for this bill, I want you to look the people in the eye. I want you to think about that hardworking taxpayer. I want you to explain to them why only 9 percent goes to defeat COVID. Why do they have to give $5,000, and you redistribute it to people who weren't even laid off? You give bonuses to the things you care most about.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard our Speaker say many times where you spend your money shows your values. Well, she does represent San Francisco, Mr. Speaker, but we don't. Ninety-two percent of the budget deficit of San Francisco is going to be paid with this bill.

But for that parent out there who has been struggling for the last year that has had to be the teacher, the tutor, the coach, the music instructor, the recess participant, help is not on the way. Help is not on the way.

For those who studied government and always thought working something bipartisan would be positive, that is no longer the case.

For those who thought they could have a fair debate on the floor, you take away even the offer to have an amendment. And when we do and we prioritize the children of this Nation over a subway in a district not far from our Speaker, the majority party walks in line.

Mr. Speaker, we are so much better than this. We proved it five other times. What a difference it makes by a simple new control of a power that people want.

Mr. Speaker, when you study history, there is a saying in a book called ``The Prince'' by Machiavelli: ``Absolute power corrupts absolutely.'' The first indication to know if it happens, take a look at the vote. There will be a bipartisan vote against this bill.

You can wave to me. It is okay. I want you to wave to the American public when they have to wave away $5,000, so a Federal employee that never has been laid off gets $21,000 to deal with their children being at home. Who is going to represent them? Who is going to be their voice?

Mr. Speaker, I will promise you this: We will never stop listening to those voices. We will never stop fighting for those voices. And there will be a day that that will be the majority voice in this House. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I have not seen that this year.

History will not be kind about what transpires today, but I still believe that America is a great hope for the future, that we are all conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that we are all equal.

But in this body it seems as though only one can have a voice, but that will not last long and that will change shortly.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 198, I call up the bill (H.R. 1319) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 5, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on the Senate amendment to H.R. 1319.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as the sponsor of this legislation, I am immensely proud that we will soon send this bill to President Biden's desk to be signed into law. We have acted with the urgency this pandemic demands, while following every House rule and proper procedure required for a budget reconciliation package.

The American Rescue Plan is aggressive--no doubt about it. But researchers and health professionals have told us this is what is needed to scale up testing and tracing, to address PPE shortages, and to speed up equitable vaccine distribution. They have told us these investments are needed if we want to save lives and defeat this pandemic once and for all.

Economists have also made clear what is needed to generate a strong, inclusive economic recovery. And again, we listened. This bill provides direct financial relief to more than 80 percent of American families. It helps feed hungry Americans and provides financial support so families can afford health coverage during the greatest health crisis of our lifetimes. It prevents more than 10 million workers from losing lifeline unemployment benefits--while also making the first $10,200 of these payments tax free. It helps families facing eviction stay in their homes. And it expands the earned income tax credit, putting more money in the pockets of hardworking Americans.

The American Rescue Plan will provide the resources needed to open schools safely and make up for lost time in the classroom. It will cut the child poverty rate in half--in half. Just think about what that will mean for those children and their futures--and the future of our country.

The legislation has been called one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in modern history. Well, I guess that depends--if you are measuring in terms of relief for nearly every American family and hardworking individual; if your yardstick is lifting millions of children out of poverty and giving parents the help they desperately need; if your metrics are a strong and inclusive economic future both in the short term and long term, then it is easy to agree.

And the American people do. They get what we are doing. They know all too well the challenges facing our Nation, and that is why the vast majority of them--Democrats, Republicans, and independents--support the American Rescue Plan.

Look, this is it. Congress' work on the bill is almost done. In just a short time, we will pass this legislation. We will send it to President Biden's desk, and he will sign it into law. We promised relief. The President promised relief, and now help is on the way.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the majority whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I suspect we will listen to this throughout this debate. The ranking member of the Budget Committee, Mr. Smith, persists in trying to scare the American people because he doesn't have a valid argument against this incredible popular bill.

Let me make this very clear: The statutory PAYGO requirements, which would cause a cut in Medicare, has never happened, won't happen, and will never happen. In 2017, when Republicans cut taxes for the wealthy and big corporations, we faced the same problem. We cured that. Democrats helped Republicans solve that issue. The only way any Medicare dollars get cut because of this bill is if Republicans don't help us correct it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin), a distinguished member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the Democratic Caucus chairman and a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I remind the gentleman that the push to give $2,000 to every citizen under a certain income level was former President Donald Trump's idea. He campaigned on that. I guess the Republicans have had a change of heart now that it is a different President.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the distinguished chair of the Oversight and Reform Committee.

Mr. Speaker, we have just listened to a repetitive recitation of all the arguments we have heard about the American Rescue Plan for the last 6 weeks or so, and they consist essentially of scare tactics, misinformation, and then calling everything socialism. You know, if Democrats had a potluck picnic, the Republicans would call it socialism.

What we say is: This is a bill that responds uniquely to a unique national crisis and it does it in a way that the American people believe is the right way.

So I respond to the minority leader by saying, a poll just this morning reported that 75 percent of the American people support the American Rescue Plan. Only 18 percent oppose it. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans support the American Rescue Plan.

Despite his attempts to divide this country and to demonize the Speaker and others, the American people understand that this is the appropriate step to take at the appropriate time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on both sides.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and also a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan F. Boyle), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Financial Services.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), a member of Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a distinguished member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), a distinguished member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), a distinguished member of the Agriculture Committee and Oversight and Reform Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), a distinguished member of the Oversight and Reform Committee and the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), a distinguished member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this morning there was a really interesting article in the Louisville, Kentucky, paper, The Courier-Journal, because yesterday the Beshear administration presented to the general assembly the numbers that Kentucky was going to experience based on this American Rescue Plan, the money that was going to go to the State, the money that was going to go to counties and cities, the money that was going to go to higher education--half of which has to be used to support students in need--and the amount of money that was going to go to help children out of poverty.

The way it was described in this article was that these legislators-- overwhelmingly Republican, our State house is 75-25, and our senate is 38-9--were stunned and they were excited. One person described it as: the excitement was palpable.

Of course it is. This is life changing for so many constituents of theirs. It is life changing for the future of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Let me put it this way: We have 4.4 million Kentuckians--4 million out of 4.4 million, 92 percent--who will be getting a check, a $1,400 check, some a little bit less, but most $1,400, and 1.2 two million children will become eligible for an extended child tax credit--1.2 million children. The magnitude of the impact of this bill is truly stunning.

Now, some people will say--and you can infer this, Mr. Speaker, from many things the Republicans have said--that none of those people deserve the $1,400. They don't need it.

I hope they all go home and tell those people that they represent, you really don't need that $1,400. You haven't suffered because of this pandemic. You haven't had to care for a relative or a child who has not been able to go to school, and you haven't had any extra expenses because of the pandemic. You just don't need it. You are a moderate- income person. Don't take the $1,400.

I want to hear that conversation because it is not going to happen. As a matter of fact, what we are all concerned about on our side is Republicans are all going to vote against this and then are going to show up at every ribbon cutting for every project that is funded out of this bill, and they are going to puff up their chest and take credit for all these great benefits that are coming to their citizens. It is okay if they want to take credit for it. It is fine.

What we are concerned about is that we have finally, in this body and in this Congress, risen to the occasion in the context of a terrible national disaster.

What astounds me when I listen to the arguments against this bill is that nobody was at fault here. At least nobody out in the country was at fault. All these people who are going to get $1,400 didn't do anything wrong. All these kids who are going to get raised out of poverty certainly didn't do anything wrong. The people who are now in food lines in many cities across the country, who never ever would have been in a food line before, didn't do anything wrong.

Who is going to help?

Do we say this is all survival of the fittest?

No. We rose to the occasion. We delivered. The American people I know support us.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to support the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and I yield back the balance of my time.