Senator Hirono Statement on the One Year Anniversary of President Biden Signing the American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of President Biden signing the American Rescue Plan (ARP):

“The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected communities in Hawaii and across the country. The American Rescue Plan allocated crucial funding to help lower costs for families, address the housing crisis, and provide resources and support to respond to this public health emergency.

“In Hawaii, the ARP provided $4.6 billion in aid to help our schools provide safe, in-person learning and address learning loss, distribute vaccines, expand access to health care, and provide immediate and long-term relief to our state. Additionally, thanks to the advance Child Tax Credit payments, more than 150,000 families in Hawaii received $393 million between July and December of last year—with an average payment of $449 a month, per household. 

“All of this would not have been possible without Democrats passing and President Biden signing the American Rescue Plan.  Not a single Republican voted for this bill that helped American families. 

“While this bill was a down payment to help families recover from COVID-19, there is still a lot of work to do. Families are still struggling with the impact of a global pandemic and a geopolitical crisis. 

“President Biden and Democrats will keep fighting to actually lower costs and support families, while Republicans are still fighting for the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations.”

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