The Weekly Planet: Biden’s Stimulus Is a Big Deal for Public Transit Robinson Meyer
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Over the weekend, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package. The House of Representatives is poised to pass it today, and then it will go to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Biden, you might remember, came into office promising to pass two pandemic-related bills. This first effort, the “Rescue” bill, is an epinephrine shot of cash into the economy’s leg. It contains the infamous $1,400 checks, beefed-up unemployment insurance, and a new child-care benefit. The second effort, the “Build Back Better” bill, is meant to overhaul American infrastructure, manufacturing, and all the physical stuff that underlies the economy. (No big deal.) That bill is only beginning to be drafted.