[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H3780-H3781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                     CONGRATULATING PRESIDENT BIDEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Garcia) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
President Biden for the progress our Nation has made this past year. In 
early 2021, the President took office during a global crisis and was 
determined to get America back on track. He knew we needed a comeback. 
He knew we needed to focus on building a better America.
  So what did President Biden do? He invested in the American people, 
and he invested big. The boom was beginning.
  In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan was signed into law. In 
total, a historic $1.9 trillion were put to work for the American 
people during the severe public health and economic crisis caused by 
COVID.

[[Page H3781]]

  Since then, the American Rescue Plan has been helping us recover. We 
are now enjoying one of the strongest periods of economic growth in 
history, and we are building a better America.
  If we look at the progress we have made over the past year, Madam 
Speaker, we can see how successful the American Rescue Plan truly has 
been.
  The plan powered historic jobs recovery and produced the largest 
calendar increase in jobs on record. The unemployment rate dropped at a 
record pace, but we have also seen the biggest drop in long-term 
unemployment ever recorded in a 12-month span. Nearly 2.5 million 
people broke out of the cycle of long-term unemployment. Madam Speaker, 
this is huge.
  As the Representative of a majority Latino district, I was especially 
proud to learn there were record drops in Latino and African-American 
unemployment rates. African-American unemployment fell by more than 30 
percent. Latino unemployment fell from nearly 9 percent to 4.4 percent, 
the fastest drop ever recorded.
  These are hardworking Americans going back to work, putting food on 
the table, and earning good paychecks. This is building a better 
America.
  We have seen that when Americans have job opportunities, great things 
happen, and they do. That is why we also saw the lowest number of home 
foreclosures ever recorded. We also witnessed a record low number of 
credit card delinquencies.
  The American Rescue Plan isn't only helping working adults. The 
American Rescue Plan's historic child tax credit benefits nearly 40 
million families with 65 million children.
  Madam Speaker, in my own home State, the child tax credit directly 
benefits nearly 7 million children, many in our area of Houston. Madam 
Speaker, that is a whole lot of children. Most families in Texas will 
receive several thousand extra dollars because of the increased 2021 
child tax credit.
  Because of these historic tax credits, child poverty rates have been 
slashed dramatically. In only 1 year, unemployment is at a record low, 
job opportunities are on the rise, and child poverty rates have been 
reduced. We are building a better America for all.
  I am so proud we have a strong leader in the White House who is 
leading America to full recovery. President Biden got it right, Madam 
Speaker. He understood that betting on the American people is always a 
good idea. With the right resources, America will win. We will all win. 
It is just that simple. Together, we really are building a better 
America.

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