Demands are spreading on social media regarding the new $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 bill, one of the largest incentives in U.S. history. This article aims to outline the key elements of the US Rescue Plan 2021 and to clarify the misleading allegations on social media surrounding it.
A post here has been shared more than 1,280 times on Facebook questions, as stimulus salaries represent only a fraction of the total budget, to which the rest of the bill will be spent. Some users sharing the message suggest that it should be “stolen” (here). This is misleading.
Another report here claims that only 9% of the $ 1.9 billion dollars “will remain in America for the American people.” Similarly, another post claims that 92% goes to “foreign entities” (here). Both claims are false.
Bill HR 1319 (here) approved by the House on March 10 (here) contains $ 400 billion for $ 1400 direct payments to most Americans, $ 350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an extension of the child tax credit, funding for pandemic response, among other provisions.
The version passed by the Senate during a marathon weekend session removed a federal minimum wage increase of $ 15 per hour by 2025; tightened eligibility for $ 1,400 direct payments, limited it to those earning less than $ 80,000, cut unemployment insurance payouts from $ 400 to $ 300 a week, and targeted some of the state and local government assistance to smaller communities.
STIMULUS CONTROLES
About 21% of the bill, $ 400 billion, will be paid on one-time payments of $ 1,400 (not $ 2,000) to many Americans (here).
The amount increases to $ 2000 when a payment of $ 600 is added which was part of the second relief account adopted in December 2020 (here).
EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
The bill also includes extended unemployment benefits at $ 300 a week until Sept. 6 for workers affected by the pandemic. Under current legislation, this benefit would expire on March 15 (here, here). Democrats have agreed to reduce the $ 400 benefit per week in order to pass the Senate. The latest version also includes a tax deduction for the first $ 10,200 benefits (here).
According to Reuters, this measure represents about $ 163 billion, or 8.4% of the bill.
CHILD TAX CREDIT AND CHILD CARE SERVICES
The bill considers an extended child tax credit of up to $ 3,000 per child, or $ 3,600 for each child under six years of age. The IRS pays a portion of this in monthly installments of $ 250 or $ 300 from July to December, which adds a role to the distribution of benefits to the responsibilities of the IRS (here).
This one-year expansion would represent about $ 109 billion, as reported by Reuters here, or 5.7%. The bill also includes about $ 55 billion to be spent on child care programs and $ 1 billion for the early learning process for Head Start ($ 56 billion, or 2.94% of the bill).
SCHOOL
At least $ 166 billion, or 8.74% of the bill, will be directed to funding the school: nearly $ 123 billion for K-12 schools, $ 2.75 billion for emergency funding for non-public schools (0.14 %) and about $ 40 billion to higher education institutions. (see bit.ly/2Q0P5tF). Additional funding allocated to the Department of Education can be seen here (bit.ly/30B5pDx).
The bill will help reopen primary and secondary schools safely and provide assistance to colleges and universities that suffered huge revenue losses during the pandemic.
PUBLIC HEALTH
As reported by Reuters, public health funding amounts to about $ 109 billion, including $ 35 billion for expanding the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and $ 6 billion for the Indian Health Service. If you include vaccine and therapeutic funding ($ 15 billion, bit.ly/3rEcM90), the amount ($ 125 billion) represents about 6.5% of the package.
GOVERNMENT
The signed bill contains $ 350 billion, or 18.42%, in funding for cash-strapped state and local governments. This will help them deal with extra costs for first responders, vaccine distribution and other expenses at a time when some of their income is declining. It aims to give smaller local governments more access to funds than previous measures (here).
SMALL BUSINESS
Support for small businesses amounts to approximately $ 51 billion, or 2.7%. Targeted small business grants total $ 15 billion (bit.ly/38zDyIb); $ 28.6 billion in new restaurant subsidy program; $ 7 billion for Paycheck Protection Program assistance for nonprofit and digital news services; $ 1 billion for theaters, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions (here).
HELP HELP
Households would be helped to pay rent, mortgages and utilities, and homeless people would be placed in housing. The government estimates that 12 million people owe an average of $ 5,800 in rent and utilities. This aid represents $ 45 billion or 2.3% of the package (here).
FOOD ASSISTANCE
Increased benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be extended until September 30th. Other programs will also benefit, such as the special supplemental program for women, infants and children. These measures represent $ 12 billion, or 0.63%. (here).
Further reading on the aid package and other provisions can be seen here.
TOTAL
Social media reports here claiming that only 9% of the $ 1.9 trillion bill “will remain in America for the American people” are demonstrably false. As explained above, the one-time payments of $ 1400 per person represent only 21% of the account.
Reports claiming that only a fraction of the $ 1.9 billion bill helps Americans are also misleading because they do not mention other measures in the bill that will affect individuals in the United States, such as extended unemployment benefits, extended child tax credit and assistance for child care. services, assistance to small businesses, housing assistance and increased benefits of food aid programs, as well as public health spending.
It all amounts to 50% of the bill. If we also look at the money that goes to school funding, this number rises to 59%.
As for posts claiming that the bulk of the bill is spent on foreign spending, it is false. It would be mathematically impossible to target ‘92% ‘of the bill on’ foreign entities’, as claimed by some posts given the aforementioned calculations.
The $ 1.9 billion stimulus leads to nearly $ 10 billion in the Foreign Relations Committee (or $ 9.76 billion bit.ly/30Gkeoa), which represents less than 1% (0.52%) of the package. The money allocated to foreign aid amounts to $ 10.54 billion if one also takes into account the $ 750 million that is aimed at financing global health (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. Direct payments of $ 1,400 represent approximately one-fifth (21%) of the $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 legal aid account signed. At least 59% of the spending goes to programs that will help Americans, according to Reuters’ calculations. Less than 1% of the $ 1.9 billion account goes to ‘foreign entities’.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.