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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden launched the White House effort on Monday to highlight the benefits of its massive COVID relief plan, saying “hope is here in real and tangible ways” as his administration begins to spread across the country to promote the new spending.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses this week embarked on an ambitious tour across the country to promote the $ 1.9 trillion plan as a way to fight the coronavirus and stimulate the economy. The road show – dubbed the ‘Help is here’ tour by the White House – began Monday with Harris heading to a COVID-19 vaccination site and culinary academy in Las Vegas and First Lady Jill Biden visiting an elementary school in the New Jersey.
The president will hit the road later in the week – Pennsylvania Tuesday, Georgia with Harris Friday – but he stayed in the White House on Monday to say the bill will help put “guns in the guns and money in the pockets. It is important.”
Hours earlier, Air Force Two took off from Joint Base Andrews and headed west to Nevada, and Harris will also be stopping over in Denver the next day 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 are meant to educate the public about different aspects of the US bailout giant. and how the administration says it will help people get to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden said that President Barack Obama’s administration, in which Biden was vice president, had not adequately educated the public about the benefits of his economic stimulus package. The president wants to do a better job of selling this time around on the details of his first major legislative victory, and he started last week with high-profile speeches, one in prime time, the other in the Rose Garden.
Biden chose Gene Sperling, a longtime expert on Democratic economic policy, to oversee the massive stimulus package, the role he himself played in the 2009 economic bailout, to lead efforts “to stay on top of every dollar spent ”.
“I have learned from my experience implementing the Recovery Act how important it is to have someone who can handle all moving parts efficiently, quickly, with integrity and accountability,” said the President.
Biden said Monday that in the next 10 days his administration would erase two important landmarks: handing out 100 million stimulus payments and administering 100 million doses of vaccine since taking office.
Key features of the plan include direct payments of $ 1,400 for most single taxpayersor $ 2,800 for married couples filing jointly, plus $ 1,400 per dependent – for a total of $ 5,600 for a married couple with two children. Payments are phased out for high income earners
An extension of federal unemployment benefits will continue until September 6 at $ 300 per week. There is $ 350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, $ 130 billion for K-12 schools and about $ 50 billion to expand COVID-19 testing, among other provisions.
Restaurants and bars that have been forced to shut down or limit service can take advantage of a new multibillion-dollar subsidy program, and the plan also provides tens of billions of dollars to help people who have taken delay on rent and mortgage payments.
The bill cleared Congress without any support from Republicans, despite polls that found broad public support. Republicans argued the bill was too expensive and included too many provisions not directly related to the virus.
The “Help is here” tour takes Harris on his first trip to the country as Vice President. Her husband, the nation’s first “second gentleman,” was on hiatus for separate events in Las Vegas on Monday and New Mexico on Wednesday.
Since taking office, Harris has presided over swearing-in ceremonies for members of Biden’s cabinet. She supported the president in his speeches, made her own remarks, spoke by phone with various world leaders and made appearances in the Washington area, including at the funeral services of Washington energy broker Vernon Jordan.
Harris also cast three decisive 50-50 Senate votes in her role as Speaker of the Senate.
The White House detailed a theme for each day, focusing on small businesses, schools, evictions and direct checks. Jill Biden was joined by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on a Monday tour of Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, where she explained how the plan will help families and communities and outlined the actions taken by the school to reopen.
But her visit revealed the challenges: In one classroom she visited, only two students were present for in-person learning, while the other 17 were virtual. Biden sat down at a computer to say hello to distant learners.
“I love being here in a school again: educators, parents and students, the whole school has come together to bring the kids back to the classroom,” she said. “But even with your best efforts, students can’t come, they can’t come every day, which means their parents still have to take time off from work or find childcare solutions. And this school, like schools across the country, cannot fully reopen without help. “
Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer, also made a few appearances in the Washington area in between his stint at Georgetown Law School. He planned to visit a food relief organization in Las Vegas on Monday and participate in a listening session with the organization’s partners.
In addition to the president, vice president and their spouses, cabinet secretaries will also be on tour. Hundreds of mayors and governors, including Republicans, are lined up to give interviews to discuss what the plan means for their communities.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the first to visit a UPS distribution center in Landover, Md., Which also delivers vaccines to the Washington area on Monday.
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Superville reported from Las Vegas. Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report.
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