Free vaccines for all Georgians
Thousands of dollars in economic relief for working class and middle-class families
Over $4 billion for Georgia’s public schools
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Jon Ossoff joined Georgia’s Democratic Congressional Delegation to discuss the relief they are delivering to Georgians after their votes to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, a health and stimulus bill that is the most significant economic relief package for working- and middle-class families in American history.
Sen. Ossoff and his colleagues discussed how the $1.9 trillion legislation will ensure COVID-19 vaccines are free and available for every Georgian, provide stimulus checks and tax credits worth thousands of dollars to working- and middle-class families, and deliver more than $4 billion to safely re-open Georgia’s public schools.
They also outlined how, because of their votes, the bill will deliver over $8 billion in direct federal funding to state and local governments, including to smaller cities and towns that did not get funding previously under the CARES Act, to maintain vital public services and protect frontline workers.
Please click here to watch the press conference:
Please find a transcript of Senator Ossoff’s remarks below:
“This bill has two main components, direct economic relief to the people and investment in defeating COVID-19. This bill will deliver a $1,400 stimulus check per person, including children, and for the first time, adult dependents. This bill will significantly increase the child allowance — the child tax credit, which will be raised to $3,600 per child under the age of six and $3,000 per child over the age of six. This bill will invest in vaccine production and supply so that every single Georgia has access to the COVID-19 vaccine for free by mid-summer, if not before.
“And if you’ve been tracking the progress, the announcement that Mercedes Benz Stadium will be used as a vaccine distribution center; 6000 free vaccines per day, increasing class and racial equity, impacting access, by serving, for example, the West End, English Avenue, and Vine City communities, as well as more broadly metro Atlanta.
“This bill will deliver $4.5 billion for Georgia’s public schools to safely reopen, in addition to more than $8 billion for state and local governments across the state of Georgia.
“For the first time, thanks to the hard work of this group, this aid will flow directly to localities with populations under half a million. The CARES Act, the aid went to the state, the Governor’s office, and mostly to the city of Atlanta; smaller localities did not get direct aid. We banded together to fix that to ensure that, not just the smaller cities like Savannah, and Rome, and Augusta, but also counties and smaller towns will get this direct support.
“This is going to be a huge help for the people of the state of Georgia. This is economic stimulus from the bottom up, from the middle out, not from the top down. Zero percent of the tax credits and stimulus checks go to the top one percent. This is stimulating and recovering economically by getting help directly to working class and middle class people, and investing in the public health effort to defeat COVID-19.”
###
