Kamala Harris Touts Biden's $1.9 Trillion Covid Stimulus Relief in Las Vegas

As members of the Biden administration fanned out over the United States to highlight the benefits of a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, Vice President Kamala Harris said she was on a mission to ensure people knew what they were entitled to in the in the American Rescue Plan.

"I'm here to also make sure we get the word out so folks know what they are entitled to receive," Harris said during a visit to Culinary Academy of Last Vegas' Fulfillment Center, where employees who work to assemble food boxes for members of the community in need of assistance.

"This is supposed to be the job of your government," Harris said. "When you need a little assistance, just get over a moment of crisis you didn't create. That's when leaders are supposed to kick in to say, I'm here, I see you and I will help you."

The “Help is Here” tour is taking Harris on her first domestic trip as vice president. She is accompanied by her husband, the nation's first “second gentleman,” who plans held separate events in Las Vegas on Monday and New Mexico on Wednesday.

The nation-wide stops at vaccination sites, businesses, schools and more are meant to educate the public about different aspects of the giant American Rescue Plan and how it will help people get to the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.

Harris insisted the tour is "not selling," rather more of a "public education campaign."

President Joe Biden has previously said President Barack Obama's administration, in which Biden was vice president, failed to adequately educate the public about the benefits of its economic recovery plan. The president has said he wants to do a better sales job this time around on the details of his first big legislative victory.

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.

Restaurants and bars that were forced to close or limit service will take advantage of a new multibillion-dollar grant program, and the plan also has tens of billions of dollars to help people who have fallen behind on their rent and mortgage payments.

The bill cleared Congress without any backing from Republicans, despite polling that found broad public support for the plan. Republicans argued the bill was too expensive. Democrats provided the votes and Biden signed it into law last week.

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