Ka‘ū News Briefs, Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Between the squalls, sunset at Ocean View, interrupting the gray of torrential rains this week.
See more on the wet weather and today's 4.2 earthquake below. Photo by Bob Martin

THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN PASSED CONGRESS TODAY and Rep. Kai Kahele released a statement saying it is "landmark, life-saving legislation that will provide urgently-needed resources to defeat the virus, put vaccines in people's arms, money into families' pockets, children safely back into classrooms and people back to work."

This legislation goes onto to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

Kahele said, "This week is one of great progress and promise for Hawaiʻi families, communities and small businesses, as I joined my fellow Democrats to pass the American Rescue Plan and send it to President Biden's desk for final signature." The people of Hawaiʻi -- our kupuna, keiki, and 'ohana -- can be assured that 'Help Is On The Way,' thanks to Democrats' tireless work to enact this historic legislation. The American Rescue Plan will help get us back on track.
"As this life-saving, jobs-creating bill is signed into law, I will keep working with my colleagues on behalf of the people of Hawaiʻi and all Americans to meet this moment as we continue to advance progress to Build Back Better For The People."
He said the American Rescue Plan will save lives and livelihoods through the following:
Put Vaccines in Arms: The plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide and addressing disparities facing communities of color. It will also take complementary measures to combat the virus, including scaling up testing and tracing, addressing shortages of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies, investing in high-quality treatments and addressing health care disparities.

Kaʻū Hospital and its sister facilities Hilo Medical Center
and Hale Hoʻola Hamakua will ramp up more
coordination of COVID vaccination events, with funding
assistance from the America Rescue Plan.

Put Money in People's Pockets: The plan finishes the job on the President's promise to provide $2,000 in direct assistance to households across America with checks of $1,400 per person, following the $600 down payment enacted in December. The plan will also provide direct housing assistance, nutrition assistance for 40 million Americans, expand access to safe and reliable child care and affordable health care, extend unemployment insurance so that 18 million American workers can pay their bills and support 27 million children with an expanded Child Tax Credit and more than 17 million low-wage workers through an improved Earned Income Tax Credit.
Put Children Safely Back in School: The plan delivers $170 billion for education and $45 billion for child care providers. This includes a $130 billion investment in K-12 school re-opening and making up for lost time in the classroom, with funds that can be used for such things as reducing class sizes, modifying spaces so that students and teachers can socially distance, improving ventilation, implementing more mitigation measures, providing personal protective equipment and providing summer school or other support for students that help make up lost learning time this year. The plan also provides more than $40 billion for higher education.
Put People Back In Jobs: The plan will provide crucial support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially those owned by entrepreneurs from racial and ethnic backgrounds that have experienced systemic discrimination, with EIDL grants, expanded PPP eligibility and more. The plan also provides crucial resources to protect the jobs of first responders, frontline public health workers, teachers, transit workers and other essential workers that all Americans depend on.
Kahele said that the American Rescue Plan "is strongly supported by a large majority of the American people, bipartisan state and local leaders, national education groups, trade unions and advocacy organizations and hundreds of businesses and chambers of commerce. Economists agree that the American Rescue Plan's targeted, evidence-based action is needed – both for struggling families and for the American economy. The legislation's provisions will generate $1.25 for every $1 of spending, will cut child poverty in half and will lift nearly 12 million people out of poverty."