WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement today on the House passage of the American Rescue Plan:
“The American Rescue Plan represents a massive step forward in our efforts to provide critical relief to the millions of workers and families struggling because of this pandemic.
“Thanks to the tireless organizing from progressives in Congress, the American Rescue Plan includes survival checks with expanded eligibility for mixed status families and adult dependents, and provided critical funding for housing, utilities, and an expansion of the child tax credit which will cut child poverty in half. The legislation also includes robust funding to boost vaccine distribution and stop the spread of COVID-19, and critical aid to keep families in Massachusetts and all across the country housed and their children fed, to safely reopen schools, ensure access to childcare, keep businesses afloat, and more.
“We must, however, make plain that our work continues. I remain deeply disappointed that the Senate eliminated the House-passed provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, which would increase pay for 32 million workers and lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty. We must immediately end the filibuster and pass legislation to raise the minimum wage to at least $15. Our workers and families deserve it.
“The bill also fails to deliver a mandate for companies to provide robust paid leave protections for their employees, which is a matter of public health, economic recovery, and racial, gender and economic justice. This must be a central priority in the next relief package.
“I proudly supported the American Rescue Plan on the floor of the House of Representatives today, and our work is unfinished. We must keep fighting for policies that meet the scale and scope of this crisis and set us on a pathway to a just and equitable long-term recovery. I look forward to partnering with the Biden Administration and my colleagues in Congress to do just that.”
