Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

GUEST COLUMN:

Nevada families need the American Rescue Plan

unemployment

John Locher / AP

People wait in line for help with unemployment benefits at the One-Stop Career Center, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Las Vegas.

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. But with new action from Congress, the road to recovery is within sight.

On Feb. 27, I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, a bold and historic package that will put Nevada on track to rebuild and recover from COVID-19.

Now, the package of legislation heads to the Senate, and an overwhelming majority of the American people are ready to see it passed. According to recent polling from Morning Consult and Politico, more than 75% of voters (including 60% of Republicans) approve of the plan. The American people know the importance of this bill, and they’re ready to see Congress deliver long-awaited relief.

Over the past year, I’ve heard countless heartbreaking stories from constituents who are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Right before COVID-19 hit, Nevada’s vibrant economy was driving our lowest unemployment rate in state history. Now, unemployment stands near 9%, and working families are hurting.

To address the unemployment crisis, the American Rescue Plan includes my legislation to increase and extend federal unemployment insurance through the end of August. We need quick action from the Senate to extend this aid, which will otherwise expire March 14.

The American Rescue Plan is packed with other provisions to help hardworking families during this challenging time, including $1,400 direct stimulus payments, direct emergency rental assistance, funding to prevent food insecurity and subsidies to make health insurance more affordable.

Critically, the legislation would also begin lifting millions of children and families out of pandemic poverty with a temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Today, the Child Tax Credit provides as much as $2,000 annually per child to working families. The American Rescue Plan would increase the credit up to $3,600 per child, and allow Nevada’s poorest families to qualify. According to the Center for Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, this expansion of the Child Tax Credit would cut child poverty in half, with an outsized effect on the Black and Latino families that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan would also expand the EITC for workers who are not raising children in their home. The EITC is an anti-poverty program designed to help low-income Americans, and it lifted 5.6 million people out of poverty in 2018. Together, changes to the Child Tax Credit and the EITC programs would provide a lifeline to workers and families, and help them replace income lost from the pandemic.

Throughout the debates over the American Rescue Plan, my Republican colleagues have argued that the package is too big. I know Nevada needs bold action to revitalize our economy — and I’m committed to working every day in Congress to make sure that our brightest days are ahead.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., represents the state’s 4th Congressional District.