WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden kicked off the White House’s effort to highlight the benefits of his huge COVID emergency relief plan on Monday, declaring that “hope is here in real and tangible ways” as his government began to wave across the country to new spending.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their wives, embarked on an ambitious country tour this week to promote the $ 1.9 billion plan as a way to fight the coronavirus and boost the economy. The road show – known by the White House as the ‘Help is here’ tour – began on Monday with Harris heading to a COVID-19 vaccination site and a culinary academy in Las Vegas and first lady Jill Biden on a elementary school in New Jersey.
The president will take the road later this week – Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Georgia, with Harris – but he remained in the White House on Monday to declare that the bill will help put weapons and money in the pockets. This is important. ”
Hours earlier, Air Force Two had pulled up from Joint Base Andrews and headed west to Nevada, and Harris would also stop in Denver the next day to meet with small business owners. Wednesday, Jill Biden is in Concord, New Hampshire, and Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The stop at vaccination sites, businesses, schools and more is intended to inform the public about various aspects of the giant American rescue plan and how the administration says it will help people get to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden said President Barack Obama’s administration, in which Biden was vice president, failed to adequately inform the public about the benefits of his economic recovery plan. The president wants to do a better sales job this time around the details of his first major legislative victory, and he began making sensational speeches last week, one for the first time and the other from the Rose Garden.
Biden has chosen Gene Sperling, a longtime Democratic expert on economic policy, to oversee the massive stimulus package, the role he himself played in the 2009 economic rescue package, to lead the efforts “to stay informed” of every dollar spent. “
“From my experience, I have learned how important it is to have someone who can manage all the moving parts with efficiency, speed and integrity and accountability,” the president said.
Biden stated on Monday that its administration will erase two key measures within the next ten days: the distribution of 100 million stimulus payments and the administration of 100 million doses of vaccines since taking office.
The key features of the plan include direct payments of $ 1400 for most single taxpayers, or $ 2800 for cohabiting couples, plus $ 1,400 per dependent – for a total of $ 5,600 for a couple with two children. The payments are being phased out for those with higher incomes.
The expansion of federal unemployment benefits will continue until September 6 at $ 300 a week. There is $ 350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, $ 130 billion for K-12 schools and about $ 50 billion to expand COVID-19 testing, among other things.
Restaurants and pubs that have been forced to close or restrict service could take advantage of a new multi-million dollar subsidy program, and the plan also has tens of billions of dollars to help people who are in arrears with rent and mortgage payments.
The bill cleared Congress without any support from Republicans, despite polls finding broad public support. Republicans argue the bill is too expensive and contains too many provisions not directly related to the virus.
The “Help is Here” tour takes Harris on her first domestic trip as vice president. Her husband, the country’s first ‘second lord’, breaks down on Monday for separate events in Las Vegas and Wednesday in New Mexico.
Since taking office, Harris has led swearing-in ceremonies for members of Biden’s Cabinet. She spoke with the president, delivered her own remarks, spoke by telephone to various world leaders, and showed up in the Washington area, including at funeral services for Washington power broker Vernon Jordan.
Harris also cast three votes in the Senate 50-50 in her role as president of the Senate.
The White House set out a theme for each day, focusing on small businesses, schools, evictions and direct investigations. Jill Biden is with the Government of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, on Monday on a tour of Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, where she talked about how the plan will help families and communities and the steps the school has taken to to open up, emphasize.
But her tour revealed the challenges ahead: in one classroom she visited, only two students were for personal learning, while the other 17 were virtual. Biden sits at a computer to greet the remote learners.
‘I just love being here at a school again: educators, parents and students. The whole school came together to bring children back to the classroom, ‘she said. ‘But even with your best efforts, students can not come, they can not come in every day, which means that their parents still have to take time to take down their jobs, or to devise solutions for childcare. And this school like schools across the country cannot reopen without help. ”
Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer, has also performed several times in the Washington area between his studies at Georgetown Law School. He planned to visit a food aid organization in Las Vegas on Monday and attend a listening session with the organization’s partners.
In addition to the president, vice president and their spouses, the cabinet secretaries will also be on tour. Hundreds of mayors and governors, including Republicans, are being interviewed to discuss what the plan means for their communities.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg headed for the first time to a UPS distribution center in Landover, Maryland, which also supplies vaccines in the Washington area.
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Superville reported from Las Vegas. Lemire reports from New York. Associated Press author Hope Yen contributed to this report.