Sen. Murray: American Rescue Plan Powered Economic Recovery by Helping People Go To Work and Take Care of Their Families

American Rescue Plan helped support 150k child care providers caring for 5 million kids, and helped people with disabilities get the home care they’ve needed during the pandemic

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, ahead of the one year anniversary since the American Rescue Plan was signed into law, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on how the American Rescue Plan powered the economic recovery by keeping child care providers open, supporting home- and community-based services (HCBS), and supporting workers and families.

“One year ago, child care providers across the country were shutting down. Working parents were scrambling to find child care for their kids. People in need of home care faced years-long waitlists or care in institutions with skyrocketing COVID-19 cases. In so many painful ways, more Americans than ever were struggling with how to care for their families and earn a paycheck.

“When Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan, we listened to workers, parents, people with disabilities, and seniors, and the results speak for themselves: in my home state of Washington, for example, 1,900 child care providers stayed open and more than 60,000 child care slots were saved because of the American Rescue Plan. Our country’s economic recovery outpaced virtually every expectation.

“The lesson of the American Rescue Plan is that our economy works best when people in Washington, D.C. actually think about what people need to go to work and take care of their families—and then make it so people can afford those needs. That’s why I’m fighting nonstop to lower families’ costs and do more to give working parents and families some breathing room.”

The American Rescue Plan provided a historic $40 billion in funding to keep child care providers’ doors open and help parents get child care. It increased the maximum Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit more than six-fold to $8,000 and made it fully refundable for the first time ever. The law also authorized $12.7 billion in federal matching funds for home- and community-based services to help ensure older Americans and people with disabilities can get the care they need in their own homes.   

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