Danielle,
Sometimes, trying to get something done in Washington is frustrating enough to make you want to tear your hair out.
But sometimes, we get to see how the work we do together makes a real difference.
Last week was one of those hopeful moments, Danielle — because Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, and President Joe Biden signed it into law.
Now, let's be clear: Our work isn't over. We still need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And this can't be a one-and-done deal — I'll always keep fighting to make sure families and small businesses get the help they need to make it through this crisis.
But right now, this COVID relief package will do a whole world of good. It will provide much-needed relief for families who are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. It will get more people vaccinated more quickly. It will help schools reopen safely.
And I'd like to zoom in on two other crucial pieces of what we just accomplished with the American Rescue Plan.
Number one: Child care.
Before the pandemic started, we already had a child care crisis in America. But now we've gone from the frying pan to the fire. Families are getting crushed, and the squeeze is particularly tight for women.
Last April, Senator Tina Smith and I teamed up and made a plan to help tackle this crisis: We'd invest $50 billion to stabilize the child care system, keep providers in business, and allow parents to go to work when it was safe.
It was an uphill fight, but Tina and I kept pushing. We got smaller chunks of child care funding in two different COVID relief bills last year. And now, with the American Rescue Plan, we are all the way to that $50 billion for child care. It will make a real difference for families, and it's basic infrastructure to keep our economy going, just like roads and bridges.
This one's personal for me. I remember what it was like trying to juggle a new job with two little ones at home. I remember how not having good, reliable child care almost knocked me out of the game — until my Aunt Bee moved in and rescued me.
Now, you know me, I'll keep pushing until we have universal child care, period. But with the American Rescue Plan in place, help is on the way for families across the country.
And here's the second piece I want to talk about: laying the groundwork to cancel student loan debt.
Student loan debt forgiveness would be another huge boost for our economy, but some naysayers have said that cancelation would surprise borrowers with a surprise tax bill.
So Senators Chuck Schumer, Bob Menendez, and I made sure that this relief bill takes care of that problem by making student loan forgiveness tax-free.
This change clears the way for the Biden-Harris administration to use their authority to cancel $50,000 in student debt, which would provide a massive stimulus to our economy, help narrow the racial wealth gap, and lift an impossible burden off of tens of millions of families.
And we're staying in the fight all the way to make it happen.
This one's personal for me too. I only got to become a public school teacher, a law school professor, and a U.S. senator because I could get a college degree for $50 a semester. That wouldn't be possible today. Our system punishes students, especially Black and brown students, with crushing debt loads for doing exactly what they've been told they need to do to get a piece of the American dream. Canceling student loan debt would lift that burden off the shoulders of tens of millions of people.
There's a lot more in the American Rescue Plan — I could keep writing about it for days and days and barely scratch the surface. And we'll keep talking about it, because it is a powerfully important example of what it looks like when our government works for everyone, not just the rich and powerful.
But for now, Danielle, I just want to close by saying thank you. We only got all this done because we did it together. Because we built a grassroots movement, and because we've kept it going.
You stayed in the fight, pitched in, and helped make sure Democrats would control the White House, the House, and the Senate so we could have a real chance to make real change like passing this legislation.
And I am deeply grateful.
Thanks for being a part of this,
Elizabeth |
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