WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden began efforts by the White House to highlight the benefits of his massive COVID aid plan on Monday, declaring that “hope is here in real and tangible ways” when his government began to spread across the country to promote new spending.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses began an ambitious trip across the country this week to promote the $ 1.9 trillion plan as a way to fight the coronavirus and boost the economy. The road show – dubbed the “Help is here” tour of the White House – began on Monday with Harris heading to a COVID-19 vaccination site and a culinary academy in Las Vegas and First Lady Jill Biden visiting a school primary school in New Jersey.
The president will hit the road at the end of the week – Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Georgia with Harris on Friday – but he stayed at the White House on Monday to declare that the bill will help put “gunshots and money in the pockets . This is important.”
Hours earlier, Air Force Two took off from Andrews Joint Base and headed west to Nevada, and Harris will also make a stopover the next day in Denver to meet with small business owners. Wednesday sees Jill Biden in Concord, New Hampshire, and Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Stops at vaccination sites, businesses, schools and more aim to educate the public about the different aspects of the giant American Rescue Plan and how the administration says it will help people get to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden said President Barack Obama’s administration, of which Biden was vice president, has not adequately educated the public about the benefits of his economic recovery plan. The president wants to do a better job of sales this time on the details of his first major legislative victory, and he started last week with high-profile speeches, one in prime time, the other at Rose Garden.
Biden chose Gene Sperling, a longtime Democratic expert on economic policy, to oversee the huge stimulus package, the role he himself played in the 2009 economic rescue package, to lead efforts “to stay on top of every dollar spent. “.
“I learned from my experience in implementing the Recovery Law how important it is to have someone who can manage all moving parts efficiently, speed, integrity and responsibility,” said the president.
Biden said on Monday that within the next 10 days, his government will clear two important milestones: handing out 100 million stimulus payments and administering 100 million doses of vaccine since taking office.
The main features of the plan include direct payments of $ 1,400 to most individual contributors, or $ 2,800 for couples filing jointly, plus $ 1,400 per dependent – for a total of $ 5,600 for a couple with two children. Payments are phased out for those with higher incomes.
An extension of federal unemployment benefits will continue until September 6 at $ 300 a week. There are $ 350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, $ 130 billion for K-12 schools and about $ 50 billion to expand COVID-19 tests, among other provisions.
Restaurants and bars that have been forced to close or limit the service may take advantage of a new multi-billion dollar subsidy program, and the plan also has tens of billions of dollars to help people who have not paid their rent and mortgages.
The bill passed Congress without any support from Republicans, despite polls that found widespread public support. Republicans argued that the bill was too expensive and included many clauses not directly related to the virus.
The “Help is here” tour is taking Harris on his first domestic trip as vice president. Her husband, the country’s first “second gentleman”, was leaving for separate events in Las Vegas on Monday and New Mexico on Wednesday.
Since taking office, Harris has presided over oath ceremonies for members of the Biden Cabinet. She sided with the president in his speeches, made his own statements, spoke on the phone to several world leaders and made appearances in the Washington area, including at funeral services for power broker Vernon Jordan in Washington.
Harris also gave three Senate 50-50 tiebreakers in his role as President of the Senate.
The White House detailed a theme for each day, focusing on small businesses, schools, evictions and direct checks. Jill Biden was accompanied by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on a tour Monday at Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, where she talked about how the plan will help families and communities and highlighted the steps the school took to reopen.
But her tour revealed the challenges ahead: in a classroom she visited, only two students were present for face-to-face learning, while the other 17 were virtual. Biden sat at a computer to say hello to the remote students.
“I just love being here at a school again: educators, parents and students, the whole school came together to bring the kids back to the classroom,” she said. “But even with their best efforts, students cannot come, they cannot come every day, which means that their parents are still having to leave work or find solutions to take care of their children. And this school, like schools across the country, cannot be fully reopened without assistance. “
Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer, also made a few appearances in the Washington area between his teaching years at Georgetown Law School. He planned to visit a food aid organization on Monday in Las Vegas and attend a listening session with the organization’s partners.
In addition to the president, vice president and their spouses, cabinet secretaries will also be on the tour. Hundreds of mayors and governors, including Republicans, are lining up to give interviews and discuss what the plan means for their communities.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the first, visiting a UPS distribution center in Landover, Maryland, on Monday, which also delivers vaccines in the Washington area.
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Superville reported from Las Vegas. Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report.