WASHINGTON – This afternoon, President Joe Biden signed the landmark $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law, providing much-needed relief to millions of Americans. In response, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, former managing director of BlackRock, Inc., and author of the upcoming book Tax the Rich, issued the following statement:
“The American Rescue Plan is one of the most significant, popular, and necessary bills ever signed into law. At a time when the need for government aid was immense, this bill represents the federal government largely rising to the occasion.
It should have been better, with a $15 minimum wage, higher stimulus checks for more people, and larger unemployment benefits, but even without those pieces this is the best and most impactful piece of legislation to come out of Congress for a decade.
It will cut poverty by nearly a third, cut child poverty in half, send much-needed direct cash assistance to millions of Americans, lift the incomes of those in the bottom quintile by nearly 20%, give unemployed Americans an extra $300 a week to support themselves and their communities, save the pensions of over 1 million union workers, and boost the fiscal strength of states and localities in both red and blue regions across the country, among many other things. This shouldn’t be sold as a political victory for Democrats – it’s a win for all Americans.”