[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 9, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H1179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2100
            AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN WILL MAKE ECONOMY STRONGER

  (Mr. CASTEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, for the one in eight Americans who will go 
to bed hungry tonight; for the 60 million Americans out of work and the 
40 million who fear they might be evicted tomorrow; for the 2.3 million 
women, a million mothers, who have left the workforce, the American 
Rescue Plan is for you.
  It will put money directly in your pockets; expand access to 
affordable healthcare and childcare; extend unemployment insurance and 
housing and nutrition assistance; and support 27 million children with 
an expanded child tax credit.
  Mr. Speaker, for the 1.4 million public-sector employees who are out 
of work--our firefighters, our teachers, our frontline public health 
workers, our first responders--we are going to provide $350 billion for 
States and localities, including $13.7 billion for my State of 
Illinois, to get you back to work, too.
  We can't fix everything. 524,000 American lives lost to COVID are 
never coming back. But tomorrow, when we vote to pass the American 
Rescue Plan, we will honor their memory. We will make things a little 
easier for their loved ones. We will get their kids back in school 
safely, their family businesses back in the black, cut child poverty in 
half, create 4 million new jobs.
  Most importantly, we will emerge from this crisis with an economy 
that is stronger, more equitable, and poised for growth for years to 
come.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues in the House and Senate who 
made this possible. Let's get this done.

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