Dear Friend,

On Saturday, nearly one year since the first COVID-19 case was reported in Virginia, I voted to pass the American Rescue Plan – a bold piece of legislation that will create 7 million jobs and ensure that our nation is able to get vaccines into arms, kids into schools, Americans to work, and lifelines to our hard-hit communities. Earlier today, I was glad to see the House of Representatives put its final stamp of approval on this bill, which now heads to the White House, where President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.

Among other priorities, I was especially proud to work with President Biden to secure $17 billion in funding for broadband in this bill, because as too many folks across the Commonwealth know, broadband is a necessity in the 21st century – not a luxury. But in Virginia, there are still 700,000 people who lack access to high-speed internet during the pandemic. This funding will expand broadband access and affordability, and is the largest-ever federal investment of its kind.

In addition to broadband, the American Rescue Plan extends emergency unemployment insurance programs through September 6, 2021. This will help ensure that Americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own are able to make ends meet while the economy rebuilds.

The American Rescue Plan also funds a number of critical priorities that will help Virginians get through the health and economic crisis:

• Relief checks: The bill includes an additional round of $1,400 economic impact payments for individuals making less than $75,000 and joint filers making less than $150,000 – plus an additional $1,400 per dependent
  
  
• Vaccine procurement & testing: The legislation includes $160 billion for national vaccination and other health efforts, including testing, tracing, genomic sequencing, public health staffing, and supplies to slow the spread of COVID-19
  
  
• Keeping small businesses open: The American Rescue Plan has billions to help small businesses keep their doors open, including:

$7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

$15 billion for the Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance Program

$28.6 billion for a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide grants to help small local restaurants, bars, and craft breweries stay in business and keep their workers employed

$1.25 billion for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) Program to support live entertainment venues, and a critical fix to ensure venue operators can access both PPP and SVOGs

$10 billion in new funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative to help small businesses grow and create jobs

• Reopening schools: The bill includes $170 billion for K-12 schools and higher learning institutions so they have the resources they need to reopen safely

• Keeping Americans in their homes: The legislation includes more than $21 billion in emergency rental assistance to help renters and small landlords make ends meet as well as $9.9 billion to aid homeowners struggling to afford their mortgage payments, utility bills, and other housing costs
  
  
• Help for the hungry: The legislation extends a 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September 30, 2021, which will help the nearly 50 million Americans who have struggled with hunger during the pandemic

• Maintaining government services & preventing layoffs: The bill provides $350 billion in aid for state, local, and tribal governments so they can continue to provide critical community services, limit long-term harm caused by the pandemic, and address longstanding inequities exacerbated by COVID-19

• Child care & help for families: The bill cuts taxes for working families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. An estimated 1.5 million children across Virginia will benefit from this expanded tax credit, and it will lift 249,000 children in the Commonwealth out of poverty and deep poverty. Researchers have said the move will cut the child poverty rate in half nationwide this year. The bill also includes $39 billion in dedicated relief for child care, to make sure that child care providers can continue supporting working families

As we work to rebuild and recover from COVID-19, please know that I will continue to work with the Biden administration and leaders in Virginia to ensure that funding is distributed appropriately, programs are implemented quickly, and Virginians get the help they deserve.

If you want to share your thoughts about an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,