American Rescue Plan
Fast federal response to pandemic key to US economic recovery, economists say
The public health emergency declaration ended on Thursday, and with it some of the policies that helped the U.S. recover from the many of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Although COVID-19 is still a public health threat, the national economic crisis it created has subsided with the U.S. economy back to its pre-pandemic […]
Child poverty dropped to a record low last year. A new report shows how to keep it that way.
North Carolina is among the states that benefited the most from an expanded Child Tax Credit The expanded child tax credit that families received in 2021 helped reduce child poverty across the country, but particularly in the South where families lack a sufficient safety net, according to a paper released on Wednesday.
U.S. mayors at the White House hear praise from Biden on rebuilding post-pandemic
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden hosted more than 200 of the nation’s mayors at the White House on Friday afternoon, highlighting economic growth and the effectiveness of their bipartisan leadership as the country moves on from the COVID-19 pandemic. “I want to thank the mayors across the country for doing everything they can do to […]
What Biden has and, maybe just as importantly, has not done
President Biden has announced he will be cutting or eliminating student loan debt for millions of Americans. It’s the latest in a growing list of tangible, beneficial achievements by his administration. One of the best ways to assess what President Biden has accomplished since taking office is to put his administration’s achievements into context — […]
Lives hang in the balance as time runs out for action on health insurance
Five years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Yet I’m the lucky one. I could afford to get treatment. Too many people in America don’t have the health care they need, even today. The 2021 American Rescue Plan included subsidies to make health insurance more affordable than ever, resulting in a record-breaking […]
Biden urges city leaders to take advantage of billions in federal relief funds
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday urged local and city governments to continue to use the $130 billion in funds allocated to them from the American Rescue Plan to help during the pandemic. The president of the National League of Cities, Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia, introduced the president to attendees of the […]
After years of neglect, four of NC’s most polluted Superfund sites funded for clean-up
With American Rescue Plan funds, EPA targets sites in Charlotte, Gastonia, Yadkinville and Jacksonville; here's what neighbors should know A blighted eyesore on Jacksonville's main drag. Contaminated former dry cleaners in suburban Gastonia and far east Charlotte. A vast and abandoned creosote treatment facility that has poisoned the soil, groundwater and nearby streams and a pond.
The inflation blame game: Five important facts to keep in mind
The subject of inflation has been on many tongues in the public policy world of late – especially as Republican politicians comb every nook and cranny of the news cycle for topics with which to launch broadsides at the Biden administration. In November, Congressman Ted Budd – a candidate for Richard Burr’s soon-to-be-available U.S. Senate seat – introduced a snarky bill that would “require all personnel in the Biden White House to complete a financial literacy course focused on inflation.”
Today’s enhanced monthly Child Tax Credit payment could be the last that families receive unless Congress acts to extend this successful policy
Today marks the sixth round of Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments going out to an estimated 1.2 million families in North Carolina, supporting the well-being of nearly two million children in the state. The temporary improvements to the CTC under the American Rescue Plan increased funding available to families, expanded eligibility by making the credit […]
Republicans have no inflation policy, but they’re loving inflation politics
“Sky-high inflation,” said (Nevada U.S. Senate candidate) Adam Laxalt, while rattling off “failures of Joe Biden’s agenda” in a statement to CNN. Citing “historically bad inflation” while hammering the Democrats’ Build Back Better agenda, the National Republican Senatorial Committee says “vulnerable Democrats like … Catherine Cortez Masto have already made clear where they stand: they’re […]
Proposed uses for NC’s flexible funds from American Rescue Plan vary widely
North Carolina’s share of State Fiscal Recovery Funds – flexible dollars allocated to North Carolina from the American Rescue Plan – present the opportunity to address new and long-standing needs across the state by infusing dollars at a once-in-a-generation scale into communities. Our analysis to date shows that the state House and Senate’s proposed plans […]
