Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and top Congressional leaders are thanking Democratic members of Congress in the Rose Garden right now for passing the $1.9tn American Rescue Plan.
“I promised the American people… that help is on the way,” Biden said. “Today, with the American Rescue Plan now signed into law, we delivered on that promise.”
“It’s historical and they call it transformational, and it really is.”
Biden outlined the way the bill will impact Americans, starting with the $1,400 stimulus checks that Americans will start receiving this weekend.
“Think of the millions of people going to sleep at night staring at the ceiling thinking ‘My God, what am I going to do tomorrow? I lost my healthcare, I don’t have a job, unemployment’s run out, I’m behind on my mortgage. What am I going to do?” Biden said. “They’re going to be getting that check soon.”
He said that the bill will create 7m new jobs and will “change the paradigm”.
“The theory was cut taxes and those at the top and the benefits they get will trickle down to everyone,” Biden said. We’ve seen time and time again that that trickle down does not work.”
“This bill puts working people first.”
Speaking before Biden, vice president Kamala Harris emphasized that the bill’s passage means that help is on the way.
“[Americans] will feel the impact of this bill for generations to come,” Harris said. “Help has arrived, America.”
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said that the bill “is the most significant piece of legislation in so many ways… and we are just getting started.”
House speaker Nancy Pelosi said “promise made, promise fulfilled”, citing Biden’s promise to deliver aid during his presidential campaign.
