Pfaff applauds the passage of the American Rescue Plan

INDIANAPOLIS – State Representative Tonya Pfaff (D-Terre Haute) today praised the Biden administration and Congress for the passage of the American Rescue Plan, which will provide $1.9 trillion of relief to Americans nationwide recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A year ago today, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic,” Pfaff said. “Now, a long year later, we stand at the beginning of the end of this journey. We are getting vaccines into arms, citizens are getting needed stimulus checks and hard hit businesses are getting additional help to survive and reopen. It's refreshing to see our leaders in Washington listen to our needs and take action to address the economic toll of the virus.”

In addition to health programs directly targeting the virus, the legislation will also address the economic fallout of the pandemic, including funds for state and local governments, direct stimulus payments to citizens, expanded unemployment benefits and support for small businesses.

“The struggles seen across the country are sadly no stranger to the residents of my district,” Pfaff continued. “Even before the pandemic, we've been hit hard by shifting economic tides. The Wabash Valley is full of strong and inspiring people who fight every day for their families and their communities. The American Rescue Plan will be a great assistance for them in moving forward.”

The bill will also make substantial investments in combatting child poverty by expanding the child income tax credit.

“The expansion of the child income tax credit will be transformative for Hoosier families,” Pfaff said. “The potential impact is simply stunning - cutting the rate of Americans living in poverty from 12.3% to 8%, and cutting the number of children living in poverty by more than half — dropping from 13.5% to 5.8%.

“Expanding the child income tax credit has been a policy championed by Republicans and Democrats,” concluded Pfaff. “It’s incredible to see the enactment of this landmark and I can’t wait to see this relief help struggling families in every community in our country.”