Jill Biden Promotes Covid Relief Plan at New Jersey Elementary School

As the Biden administration began its cross-country effort to highlight the benefits of its $1.9 trillion plan to defeat the coronavirus and boost the economy, first lady Jill Biden took the White House message to a New Jersey elementary school.

"Today, I'm here to tell you, with the American Rescue Plan, help is here," she said.

The package, signed into law Thursday, follows more than $4 trillion in pandemic relief. It seeks to fund mass vaccinations, speed hiring, reopen schools, stabilize state and local government finances and halve child poverty.

One of the plan's key features is direct payments of $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple filing their taxes jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent - for a total of $5,600 for a married couple with two children. The payments phase out for those with higher incomes.

An extension of federal unemployment benefits will continue through Sept. 6 at $300 a week. There's $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments, $130 billion for K-12 schools and about $50 billion to expand COVID-19 testing, among other measures.

"We are going to safely open schools," the first lady said. "We are going to get people back to work. We are going to lift up the families who are struggling to get by and we're going to be stronger than ever."

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