Yarmuth Marks 500 Days of American Rescue Plan, Impact on Kentucky

House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth marked 500 days since President Biden signed Democrats' American Rescue Plan Act into law, lifesaving legislation that created millions of jobs, kickstarted a successful national vaccination program, helped schools reopen, and funded critical projects in communities across the country. The Rescue Plan ensured that American families nationwide had the support they needed during this pandemic while putting our economy back on track. Click here for an interactive map showing how the American Rescue Plan helped Kentuckians.

"As the lead sponsor of the American Rescue Plan, I am proud to celebrate how this historic legislation has saved lives and led to a record-breaking economic recovery that far surpassed economists' expectations," said Yarmuth. "In the 500 days since it was signed into law, the labor market has been booming and we've experienced record job creation. Because of the Rescue Plan, state and local governments were able to keep essential workers on the job and make overdue investments in their communities. Working families were able to put food on the table, parents were able to go to work, and children were able to return to school."

"Our nation is still grappling with challenges stemming from Russia's war in Ukraine and persistent supply chain issues -- but it is abundantly clear that the United States is in a better place to face these economic headwinds because of the American Rescue Plan," Yarmuth continued. "I look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration and my colleagues in Congress to address the new challenges facing American families by building on the momentum of the Rescue Plan's to create a stronger, more equitable America."

In Kentucky alone, the American Rescue Plan provided:

• Economic impact payments of up to $1,400 per person for more than 2,445,970 adults and children in Kentucky.
• Increased monthly Child Tax Credit tax cuts of up to $3,600 per child to the families of 931,000 children, lifting 69,000 Kentucky children out of poverty.
• $2,366,006,496 in state fiscal relief and $1,587,394,015 in local relief.
• $2,001,216,921 in relief to help Kentucky K-12 schools to reopen more safely.
• $171,803,415 for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which helped save 814 restaurants in Kentucky.
• $496,026,783 for colleges and universities in Kentucky.
• $61,571,174 in LIHEAP funding to help low-income families pay their energy bills.

Overall, the American Rescue Plan:

• Nearly doubled GDP growth and led to the creation of 4 million additional jobs in 2021.
• Helped make 2021 the biggest year of job creation in U.S. history.
• Enabled the U.S. to be the first major advanced economy in the world to come back above pre-pandemic levels of GDP.
• Made workers and families more financially resilient to future challenges -- thanks to the Rescue Plan, families up and down the income scale generally still have more money than they did before the pandemic.
• Kept 3.7 million American children out of poverty.
• Helped 5.8 million Americans newly enroll in free or affordable health plans.
• Saved 14.5 million Americans who get their insurance through ACA marketplace plans $67 a month on premiums, totaling more than $800 per person in savings in 2021.
• Led to a record small business boom in 2021, with more Americans starting new businesses than ever before and the highest rate of small business job creation ever recorded in a single year.
• Prevented a devastating wave of home foreclosures like we saw during the Great Recession.
• Is projected to save more than one million hard-earned worker pensions.
• Funded widespread, efficient vaccination efforts and helped schools, childcare facilities, and workplaces reopen safely.
• Led to the most equitable economic recovery in recent memory.

Prior to the American Rescue Plan, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the U.S. would not reach a 4.2 percent unemployment rate until the end of 2024. After passage of the Rescue Plan, America's unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent by early 2022, where it remains today -- with 14 states seeing their lowest unemployment rates on record. The number of Americans needing unemployment benefits is at its lowest in 52 years. Furthermore, the economic growth powered by the Rescue Plan put the deficit on track to drop by more than $1.5 trillion this year -- the fastest deficit reduction in any year on record.

A recent report prepared by the House Budget Committee on the transformational impacts of the American Rescue Plan.