Supporting Women and Children: President Biden’s American Rescue Plan

By the Mom Congress Policy Team

Last month, the Biden Administration released a $1.9 trillion proposal to support Americans and the economy entitled, “American Rescue Plan”. The proposal is a welcomed sign of hope for the millions of mothers across the nation who have found their physical, psychological, and financial well-being hanging in the balance. There is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has put a disproportionate amount of strain on mothers. The pandemic has highlighted for the nation what many mothers already knew—women in the United States bear the brunt of balancing work and family obligations. Research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that mothers working full-time spend 50% more time each day caring for children versus full-time working fathers. Mothers need support and the American Rescue Plan includes several provisions to assist mothers and their children during this unprecedented time in our nation’s history.

Some of the key takeaways from the proposal include:

Funding for Mental Health

Maternal anxiety and depression are the most common complications of childbirth, which impact 1 in 5 women; however, there is no universal screening or treatment. Without the proper investments in education, screening, and treatment, women are left with little supports. The confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased psychological distress among mothers, with one study showing that almost 50% of women reported psychological distress after nationwide school closings as compared to 41% of women without school-aged children and 32.5% of men.

The American Rescue Plan calls for an infusion of $4 billion in funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand access to critical mental health and substance use disorder services.

Paid Leave

Last year, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127) included two important provisions on paid leave. The first provision stated that private employers with fewer than 500 employees must pay sick leave up to 80 hours (roughly 10 days) to employees who need to take leave for coronavirus-related reasons. The second provision made employees eligible for an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave at two-thirds of their regular wages. These provisions expired on December 31, 2020.

In 2020, approximately 700,000 parents with young children left the workforce with mothers making up two-thirds of the workforce exit. Until daycare centers are safe to reopen, mother’s need paid leave supports to assist in covering the current gaps in child care. The American Rescue Plan would reinstate the provisions from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act through September 2021.

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program Investments

Each year, WIC serves more than 7 million pregnant and post-partum women, infants, and children through their fifth birthday. Despite its steady funding over the years, enrollment in the program has continued to decline. Although food insecurity has soared to unprecedented levels as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment figures still remain lower than 2019. The American Rescue plan calls for a $3 billion investment into the WIC program to assist states in modernizing their enrollment procedures to enable families to gain access to the program without having to take time off work or bring their infants and children to multiple appointments. Additionally, the monies will aid in the development of technological upgrades and program operations for states to better serve those in need.

Child Tax Credit Expansion

The child tax credit would expand in three ways under the American Rescue Plan. The tax credit would increase by $1,000 to $3,000 per child and increase to $3,600 for children under the age of six. The credit would become fully refundable and remove the $2,500 income floor to be eligible for a refund. Last, the tax credit would include children through the age of 17 versus its current cut-off age of under 17 years old. According to one estimate, this plan would lift approximately 10 million children above or closer to the poverty line.

Child Care Tax Credits

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L. 116-260) that passed in December 2020 provided $10 billion in funding for the child care sector. To continue this investment, the American Rescue Plan proposes an additional $15 billion in funding, that would include money for families struggling to afford child care. Given that 1 out of 4 women who became unemployed during the pandemic report lack of child care as the reason for their job loss, these investments are critical. The plan requests expanding the child care tax credits for 1-year to help families get back on their feet. Families are eligible to receive up to $4,000 for one child or $8,000 for two or more children. The tax credit will be refundable up to 50% for families making less than $125,000 per year.

The Biden Administration is meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators to negotiate the details of the rescue plan. Congress is expected to move forward with a version of the American Rescue Plan in the coming weeks.