Landmark American Rescue Plan Dramatically Enhanced by National Urban League Advocacy
NEW YORK (March 10, 2021) -- The landmark American Rescue Plan, which will help bring the crippling COVID-19 pandemic under control and speed the nation to a fair and robust economic recovery, was dramatically enhanced by provisions the National Urban League proposed and advocated, the League's President and CEO, Marc H. Morial said today.
"For nearly a year, the National Urban League has fought for direct aid to America's struggling cities and states," Morial said. "Millions of front-line workers have lost their jobs due to plummeting revenue. The aid that will flow directly to state and municipal coffers will bolster public health and safety while restoring fiscal health as well."
Morial also noted the expanded Child Tax Credit, which the National Urban League championed, along with an extension of SNAP benefit increases and supplemental unemployment insurance, and an additional round of direct payments for eligible adults and children, are expected to slash the childhood poverty rate by more than half and give families the support they need to survive the COVID crisis.
The legislation also includes a National Urban League-backed community-based vaccination plan that will target the neighborhoods that have suffered the most under the pandemic.
“Fortunately, President Biden recognized that a truly effective recovery and stimulus plan needed to address the structural inequities in our institutions that produced such drastically disproportionate outcomes for communities of color,” Morial said. “I’m proud we were able to work so effectively with his administration on this historic effort.”
Morial said he was disappointed that a desperately-needed minimum wage increase was stripped from the bill, but added, “The fight for $15 will continue.”