[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 46 (Thursday, March 11, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1477-S1478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021

  Mr. SCHUMER. Now, Madam President, on the American Rescue Plan,

[[Page S1478]]

which finally cleared the hurdle in Congress yesterday by passing the 
House, it is now only a Presidential signature away from becoming law. 
Soon--very soon--the most sweeping recovery effort in recent history 
will get underway.
  Direct checks will be delivered to American families from coast to 
coast--roughly, 85 percent of all households. The American people can 
expect those $1,400 checks for each person in the family to be 
delivered by the end of March, and we are making amazingly good 
progress on vaccines. Vaccines will be available far more quickly to 
far more people.
  Just this morning, the Biden administration announced an expansion of 
the vaccine program, and I was able to announce that more than 100 
community health centers in my home State of New York will be eligible 
to get their own, dedicated supply of vaccines. There is a brand new 
vaccine supercharge for New York and for some of the rest of the Nation 
as well--the crux: more vaccines and more sites to administer them. 
Over 100 sites will be set up across New York State to administer a 
massive influx of new shot supplies.
  There is light at the end of this COVID tunnel, which has always been 
centered on access to a free vaccine for all New Yorkers. More access 
and more shots mean a quicker recovery, and that is what we want, and 
that is becoming available for my home State of New York and for the 
entire Nation.
  The CHC sites, or community health center sites, will be federally 
funded and organized by the Department of Health and Human Services--a 
huge expansion. We have all heard numerous stories of people having to 
travel too far to get the vaccine, hampering our ability to recover and 
return to normal. With this announcement of more vaccines and more New 
York sites to administer them, New Yorkers have something to celebrate, 
and I thank the President for working with us to make this effort real 
and to bring it to every State in the Nation. Other things are 
happening, too.
  Our schools will receive critical assistance to update their 
infrastructure, hire more teachers and tutors, and prepare to reopen as 
fast and as safely as possible.
  There is going to be money for broadband. There are going to be 
dollars for rural hospitals. There are going to be dollars to help our 
Tribal nations--all who are suffering. The new RESTAURANTS Act, which 
is so important to so many of our States, is becoming law. More money 
for Save our Stages to help our arts institutions is coming.
  Perhaps the thing that we are the most proud of--although there are 
so many in this bill--is helping people with their pensions and making 
sure those who are laid off still get healthcare by funding COBRA 
fully.
  There are so many good things for average working families, but maybe 
the most important of all--who knows? There are so many good things in 
this bill--is the child tax credit, which will cut childhood poverty in 
half. When a child is born into poverty at no fault of his or her own, 
they don't get adequate nutrition. They don't get adequate healthcare. 
They don't get adequate housing. They don't get adequate education. 
Then, when they get to young adulthood, they have nowhere to go, and 
then they get blamed for their plight. The better, smarter, more 
effective thing to do is to help them get out of poverty early so they 
can lead good, productive lives as citizens and as taxpayers. We are 
doing that for the first time here, and I hope it is something that we 
can continue.
  Simply put, the American Rescue Plan is one of the most significant 
pieces of legislation to pass the Congress in recent history.
  Yesterday, I started describing in more detail some of the lesser 
known aspects of the plan. Everyone knows that vaccines are coming, 
that $1,400 checks are coming, that money for schools is coming, and 
now people know of the child tax credit, but there are lots of other 
things in this bill. Today, I want to continue by talking about another 
unheralded provision: assistance to Native communities. It is a topic 
very much on theme today given the nomination of Secretary Haaland.
  One of the most tragic features of the COVID-19 pandemic is how 
destructive it has been for America's Tribal nations. Native Americans 
have faced the highest risk of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths 
due to COVID-19--bar none, the highest. Early in the crisis, the Navajo 
Nation, to take one example, saw more cases per capita than any other 
State in the country. Decades of an unraveling social safety net, 
declining economic opportunity, an overburdened health system, and the 
failure of the Federal Government to honor its trust obligations to 
American Tribes left Native communities unequipped to handle the 
crisis. But in the American Rescue Plan, the Democrats will deliver the 
single largest investment in Native communities in our Nation's 
history. We are very proud of that. It is historic--the single largest 
investment in Native communities in our Nation's history. More than 
$31.2 billion in direct funding will go to Tribes and communities to 
defeat this pandemic and rebuild their communities; $20 billion 
directly to Tribal governments so they can stabilize essential 
services; $6 billion to the Indian Health Service, not just for 
vaccines and testing and tracing but to improve and restore these 
rural, long-neglected hospitals; hundreds of millions more for Native 
education; $10 million will go to just making sure communities can 
access clean water.
  Listen to the items I just mentioned: clean water, keeping hospitals 
running, connecting kids to broadband. These are absolute necessities, 
and the American Rescue Plan is going to dedicate resources to all of 
them for Indian Country.
  I want to thank a whole bunch of my colleagues. So many contributed, 
but the chair of the Indian Affairs Committee, Senator Schatz, and 
Senators Tester and Cantwell and Smith and Kelly and Ben Ray Lujan and 
Heinrich are very, very important. Senator Heinrich particularly pushed 
for broadband. So it was a team effort, and I am proud of my 
colleagues.
  The American Rescue Plan takes us a giant step closer to fulfilling 
our trust responsibilities to all Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and 
Native Hawaiians. This is just one example, an important one, as to how 
the rescue plan will dramatically improve the lives of millions of 
people in this great country of ours.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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