[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on the American Rescue Plan. As 
Americans learn more and more about ARP, the American Rescue Plan, the 
more popular it becomes and the more optimistic Americans feel about 
our economic recovery.
  Across the country, the support for the rescue plan has risen to over 
70 percent. In January of this year, before President Biden took office 
and Democrats assumed the majority of the Senate, more than four in 
five Americans believed America was on the wrong track; less than one 
in five said it was on the right track.
  Now a majority, 55 percent, believe the country is headed in the 
right direction. It is back on the right track. That is a dramatic turn 
rather quickly, but I think it is, in part, because of the good work we 
have done here in the Senate.
  Now we have learned something else: Consumer confidence has increased 
faster after the passage of the American Rescue Plan than after any of 
the other stimulus bills passed by Congress, particularly among low- 
and middle-income Americans, who have suffered the most.
  That is fantastic news. Americans at the top have been able to 
survive the pandemic much more easily than Americans at the lower end 
of the ladder. For that reason, economists have long feared a K-shaped 
recovery in which high-income earners recover quickly, while middle- 
and low-income earners are left behind.
  The American Rescue Plan is finally restoring confidence and support 
for Americans at the middle and at the bottom, helping drive a robust 
recovery for everyone.
  One crucial aspect of that recovery is support for housing. As we all 
know, during the pandemic, tens of millions of Americans were out of 
work and drained family incomes. Americans were forced into impossible 
choices: Do I pay the rent and utilities this month or do I buy another 
few weeks of groceries?
  Sadly, more than 13 million Americans report that they have fallen 
behind on the rent, especially Black and Brown Americans.
  So when Senate Democrats put together the American Rescue Plan, we 
made one of the most significant investments in housing assistance in 
recent history: more than $20 billion in emergency aid for low-income 
renters, those at the greatest risk of eviction; $10 billion to help 
homeowners behind on mortgages and utilities to avoid foreclosure.
  We include crucial support for rural America, homeowners struggling 
with the mortgage, and Americans, particularly veterans, who have 
recently fallen into homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
  The American Rescue Plan goes further in delivering housing 
assistance to Tribal Nations and Native Hawaiians, more than any other 
housing bill in history.
  The American Rescue Plan, quite literally, will keep a roof over 
Americans' heads. It is just one of the many ways the ARP delivers 
relief to struggling Americans and sets the stage for a supercharged 
economic recovery.
  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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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