Senate Passes American Rescue Plan with Arts Support

This post is originally an email, sent on March 8, 2021, to Americans for the Arts’ Arts ActionFund mailing list.

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Dear Arts Action Fund member,

Following a record 25-hour debate that went through the night, the U.S. Senate passed its amended version of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for COVID relief along party line votes on Saturday, March 6.

There was, for about 24 hours, a threat to the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities funds from four amendments submitted by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)--but in the end, those amendments were not taken up on the Senate floor.

Here are the highlights of the Senate version of the bill:

  • $135 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), $135 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), $200 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and $175 million added for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

  • $1.25 billion additional funds for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program with the new allowance that entities can apply for both PPP and SVOG for a net award.

  • The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) covered period was extended a week to Labor Day from August 29 to September 6, but the federal PUA amount was reduced from $400 to $300 per week. In exchange for the lower benefit, the first $10,200 of unemployment insurance benefits will be non-taxable in 2021 for households with an adjusted gross income under $150,000.

  • Federal direct economic stimulus checks will be $1,400 per taxpayer and $1,400 per child or adult dependent. However, the payments will completely phase out for taxpayers with more than $80,000 of your last filed adjusted gross income for singles, $120,000 for heads of household, and $160,000 for married couples.

  • The bill increased federal COBRA health insurance for laid off workers from 85% to 100% through September.

  • $350 billion for state and local government relief with excellent language clarifying eligible use of funds for assistance to small businesses, nonprofits, and hard-hit industries like tourism, travel, and hospitality. Funding can also be used for the expansion of broadband coverage to rural and inner-city areas. $10 billion is designated for local capital infrastructure projects.

  • $15 billion for additional Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds, with loans prioritized for hardest hit businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

  • $7.25 billion additional funds for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

  • $25 billion for a new grant program for restaurants and bars to meet payroll and other expenses.$1.25 billion for evidence-based summer enrichment,

  • $1.25 billion for after school programs, and $3 billion for education technology.

  • $130 billion for most K-12 schools to safely reopen within 100 days.

What’s Next: Now that the Senate passed their version of the American Rescue Plan, it needs to go back to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote on the identical bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) quickly announced that, “On Tuesday, the House will consider the Senate's amended version of the American Rescue Plan, so that we can send this bill to President Biden for his signature.” Target date for enactment is before March 14, 2021.

Additionally: Late on Friday, March 5, the Small Business Administration (SBA) posted SVOG informational documents to their website. Read more about these updated documents and requirements here.

Stay tuned for more updates and ways to take action soon!

Latest NewsJade Elyssa Rivera