Biden signs $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act

President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into law this afternoon.

The COVID-19 relief legislation was passed in the House of Representatives on a party-line vote of 220-211, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) reported.

The act provides additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and vaccine distribution, extends the employee retention tax credit, and maintains supplemental unemployment benefits at $300 per week through Sept. 6. 

The NLBMDA lobbied the Senate to lower supplemental unemployment benefits after the House passed legislation to increase these benefits to $400 per week earlier this month.

While this bill does not include COVID-19 employer liability protections, the NLBMDA said that it will continue to lobby Congress on these protections and will be making this issue a main focus of its LBM Advocacy Week next month. 

NLBMDA will also continue to lobby Congress in the coming days to extend the PPP application deadline from Mar. 31 to Dec. 3.

Here is a summary of what is contained in the American Rescue Plan Act, as provided by the NLBMDA. 

• Supplemental Unemployment Benefits: Maintains supplemental unemployment benefits at $300 per week through September 6. The first $10,200 in unemployment benefits received in 2020 by households earning $150,000 or less would be nontaxable. The House bill had originally provided $400 per week in supplemental unemployment benefits.
• Employee Retention Tax Credit: Extends the employee retention tax credit through December 31, 2021. Modifies the credit so that it can only be claimed against the hospital insurance tax beginning after June 30, 2021.
• Paid Sick and Medical Leave: Extends tax credits for employers who voluntarily offer their employees paid sick and medical leave benefits related to COVID-19 through September 30. Increases the amount of wages for which an employer may claim the paid family credit in a year from $10,000 to $12,000 per employee and increases the number of days for which self-employed individuals can claim the credit from 50 to 60. Expands eligible leave to include time taken to receive or recover from a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Small Business Relief: Adds $7.25 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and $15 billion to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
• No Federal Minimum Wage Increase: Does not increase the federal minimum wage.
• COVID-19 Vaccines and Testing: Provides $75 billion for COVID-19 vaccines, testing and tracing.
• Direct Payments to Individuals: Includes $1,400 stimulus payments for individuals who earn up to $75,000 and married couples who earn up to $150,000. The payments phase out after $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for couples.
• Child Tax Credit: Expands the Child Tax Credit for 2021 to $3,000 per child ($3,600 per child under age 6). Children age 17 are now eligible. The tax credit will be fully refundable.
• State and Local Government Aid: Provides $350 billion for state and local government aid.

A full summary of the bill can be found here.