Early this morning, the United States House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021—legislation modeled off of President Biden’s recent $1.9 trillion proposal to respond to the ongoing pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act would provide nearly $130 billion in additional pandemic relief for the K-12 community via the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, $7.6 billion in funding to connect students to home broadband and devices, and nearly $350 billion in aid for State, Local, and Tribal governments.
Concurrent to this effort
in the House, the Senate parliamentarian is currently examining various
provisions contained in the legislation to ensure they meet the requirements of
the budget reconciliation process in that chamber. While the K-12, broadband,
and state and local governmental funding noted above is expected to be included
in final legislation considered by the Senate sometime next week, provisions
such as a proposed federal minimum wage increase contained in the bill will
likely be stripped out of the final legislative package based on a ruling by the
parliamentarian prior to Senators voting on the American Rescue Plan Act. This
action would likely lower the overall cost of the plan.
The legislation now moves to the United States Senate for further debate and consideration. VSBA will continue to provide updates as the legislation is heard in the United States Senate.
For additional coverage, please click here.
