Thanks to President Joe Biden and the Democratic Congress, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was passed to immediately help Pennsylvanians weather the twin crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic toll it has taken on all of us.
Here are just three examples from the plan that benefit us locally:
Vaccines: Increased funding for vaccine distribution has lead to over 100 million vaccinations ahead of schedule, followed by a revised target of 200 million within the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency.
Direct Payments: 8.1 million adults (86% of all Pennsylvania adults) and 2.8 million children (84% of all children in the state) will have received direct payments of $1,400, a lifeline for the state’s 2.75 million people reporting difficulty covering normal household expenses.
Cities, counties and the Commonwealth will receive $12.1 billion to prevent service cuts and layoffs. For example, Potter County will receive $3.2 million, McKean County $7.9 million, Cameron County $800,000 and Tioga County $7.9 million. This is real money invested to protect our local services such as policing, highway maintenance, first-responder support, health care, education, etc.
This plan is the direct result of bold changes in our national leadership and the progress that can be made when we put our minds to it. The future for our counties looks brighter thanks to the choices we and our newly elected leaders made. As Americans, we should be proud of these bold actions to address the crises before us.
Linda Klingaman, chairperson Dennis Goodenough, vice chair Mary C. Smith, committee member Potter County Democratic Committee
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