{"id":119538,"date":"2021-05-06T13:12:35","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=119538"},"modified":"2021-05-06T13:12:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:12:35","slug":"president-biden-on-his-administrations-implementation-of-the-american-rescue-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=119538","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on His Administration\u2019s Implementation of the American Rescue Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good afternoon.  Earlier today, I \u2014 I visited a restaurant here in town, Las \u2014 I\u2019m going to mispronounce it \u2014 Las Geme- \u2014 Las Gelameas [Gemelas].  And \u2014 which is a pilot program for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and an important piece of the American Rescue Plan.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BVt_wIO8Rhs\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One of my goals with the American Rescue Plan is to make sure that we get this law\u2019s benefits quickly and directly to the American people.<\/p>\n<p>So before I say a bit more about what we\u2019re doing to support our nation\u2019s restaurants, let me provide an update on what is happening through the American Rescue Plan right now, as I speak. <\/p>\n<p>First is providing checks in pockets and shots in arms.  More than 163 million Rescue payments have already gone out.  These are checks \u2014 direct payments of up to $1,400 \u2014 that, for a typical family of four making about $110,000, means a $5,600 check you\u2019ll get.  By the time all of the money is distributed, more than 85 percent of American households will have received a check. <\/p>\n<p>The Rescue Plan is also funding vaccine administration and distribution.  It\u2019s a big reason why we were able to administer over 220 million shots in my first 100 days \u2014 a pace unmatched by any other nation in the world or in prior mass vaccinations in all of American history. <\/p>\n<p>You know, it\u2019s helped schools reopen safely.  It\u2019s helping childcare centers stay in business.  It\u2019s helping families pay for childcare. <\/p>\n<p>The Rescue Plan is delivering food and nutrition assistance to millions of Americans facing hunger.  And hunger is already sharply down in the United States. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also providing rental assistance to keep people from being evicted from their homes, it\u2019s making healthcare more affordable, it\u2019s cutting child poverty in this country in half, and the list goes on.  And the message is clear: Help is here. <\/p>\n<p>And the bottom line is this: The American Rescue Plan is working.  America is getting vaccinated.  Job creation is soaring.  The economy is growing.  And our country is on the move again. <\/p>\n<p>But some of the parts of the \u2014 of our economy need special help.  At the top of that list is our nation\u2019s restaurants.  When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, our nation\u2019s restaurants were some of the first hit and the worst hit.  In 2020, more than 2,300 \u2014 excuse me \u2014 2 million \u2014 2.3 million restaurant\u2019s jobs disappeared \u2014 2.3 million restaurant jobs disappeared. <\/p>\n<p>Restaurants are more than a major driver of our economy; they\u2019re woven into the fabric of our communities.  And so, for many families, restaurants are the gateway to opportunity \u2014 a key part of the American story. <\/p>\n<p>There are families of all races, all ethnic backgrounds, all nationalities in this country who have built their American Dream around a family- \u2014 a family-owned restaurant.  And for more workers, their own story of economic progress starts in a restaurant. <\/p>\n<p>In the restaurant I just visited, Rogelio Martinez, who immigrated to this country 17 years ago, started working as a meatpacker.  Now he\u2019s the restaurant\u2019s lead butcher and one of its owners. <\/p>\n<p>For nearly one in three Americans, a rest- \u2014 this is hard to believe \u2014  but for one in three Americans, a restaurant provided their first job.  More than half of all Americans have worked in a restaurant at some point in their lives. <\/p>\n<p>Before the pandemic, restaurants and bars employed 12 percent \u2014 12 percent \u2014 of all the workers in our country.  This is an industry that provided more opportunity for minority managers than any other industry in America.  This is an industry where the staff feels like family and often is family. <\/p>\n<p>When the pandemic hit, restaurant owners and operators were resilient, creative, and generous.  Almost overnight, restaurants put in place safety measures to protect their employees and to protect us. <\/p>\n<p>They stepped up to feed our frontline workers.  They changed their menus.  They transitioned to takeout and delivery so they could be serving people who depended on them.  But when \u2014 but even with the changes, many had to furlough or lay off workers, or close entirely. <\/p>\n<p>The restaurant I visited today went from 55 employees to just 7 before it started to bounce back.  Now, as we vaccinate Americans, customers are coming back. <\/p>\n<p>And the vaccinat- \u2014 our vaccination progress and our economic recovery is going hand in hand.  As that happens, we want to make sure that our restaurants, bars, and other dining establishments can staff back up and they can come back as well. <\/p>\n<p>Right now, only about a quarter of the restaurant owners expect to return to normal operations in the next six months.  We can do much better than that with the American Rescue Plan. <\/p>\n<p>The Restaurant Revitalization Fund \u2014 that\u2019s what it\u2019s called, \u201cthe Revitalization Fund\u201d \u2014 will provide direct relief to restaurants and to hard-hit food establishments: bars, bakeries, food stands, food trucks, and caterers. <\/p>\n<p>Businesses that get grants can use it to cover payroll, rent, utilities, supplies, everything they need to start \u2014 to stay open and to reopen.  We are \u2014 we\u2019re opening the doors of this program for \u2014 so that restaurants all over the country can open their doors again. <\/p>\n<p>We start accepting app- \u2014 we started accepting applications on Monday.  Today is Wednesday.  We made it quick and easy to apply.  Within the first two days, there were 186,200 applications from all 50 states for help.  That\u2019s a staggering number. <\/p>\n<p>Ninety-seven thou- \u2014 ninety-seven thousand six hundred of those applications came from businesses owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. <\/p>\n<p>Now, the applications \u2014 they hav- \u2014 all haven\u2019t been processed yet.  But, right now, it looks like we\u2019ll be able to provide help to about 100,000 restaurants and other eligible businesses. <\/p>\n<p>When we passed the American Rescue Plan \u2014 we did that \u2014 some people said it wasn\u2019t needed.  This response proves them wrong; it\u2019s badly needed.<\/p>\n<p>About a year ago, when the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program opened up, a lot of the smallest firms saw the doors shut in their face.  The law was written so that as we process these applications \u2014 the new one \u2014 that we focus first on those who were left behind by the other relief programs. <\/p>\n<p>And to make sure that relief is distributed fairly, we also set aside funds for the smallest restaurants \u2014 bars, food trucks, and many family-owned restaurants \u2014 that haven\u2019t gotten any help to date, and they need it.  That way, they don\u2019t have to compete above their \u201cweight class\u201d for these grants. <\/p>\n<p>Sixty-one thousand \u2014 sorry for all the numbers, but they\u2019re important \u2014 sixty-one thousand seven hundred applications have come \u2014 come from the smaller bars and restaurants already. <\/p>\n<p>And I want to thank the Small Business Administrator, Isabel Guzman, for the work that she and her team are doing to make sure we get help quickly and fairly to the businesses that need it the most.<\/p>\n<p>As I said, I\u2019ve spoken to dozens of restaurants\u2019 owners about the challenges they face.  But I\u2019ve also received letters from people who want to tell me about the restaurant owners in their communities.  I received one letter from a man who asked me to look out for a pair of local restaurant owners who he described as, quote, \u201cthe hardest-working people I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d end of quote. <\/p>\n<p>Another letter was from a woman who wanted to tell me about how important the couple that ran the restaurant in her town near her was.  She said they are, quote, the \u201cstrong, consistent foundation of our community,\u201d end of quote. <\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s our economy or our sense of community, we\u2019re relying on restaurants to play a big role in our recovery.  If we want our economy to recover in a way that deals everyone in, then our restaurants need a seat at the table \u2014 no pun intended.  That\u2019s what we\u2019re giving them.  That\u2019s what this program is about: a seat at the table.  <\/p>\n<p>This is another example of how we\u2019re putting the American Rescue Plan to work quickly and effectively, and showing the American people that their government can deliver \u2014 can deliver for them again and do it without waste; that we can vaccinate this nation; that we can get our kids safely back in school; that we can get our economy back on track by helping hundreds of thousands of small businesses reopen and stay open; that we can give the people of this nation a fighting chance again.  That\u2019s what this is all about. <\/p>\n<p>God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    President Biden, are you going to back the waiver of the U- \u2014 at the WTO?  Are you going to back that?  Is the U.S. government going to back that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I\u2019m going to talk about that later today.  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    President Biden, you said earlier you \u201cdon\u2019t understand Republicans.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    What does it \u2014 what does it say about them if they oust Liz Cheney from leadership for telling the truth about the election? <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Look, it seems as though the Republican Party is trying to identify what it stands for.  And they\u2019re in the midst of a significant, sort of, mini-revolution going on in the Republican Party.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been a Democrat for a long time.  We\u2019ve gone through periods where we\u2019ve had internal fights and disagreements.  I don\u2019t ever remember any like this. <\/p>\n<p>And so, as one of you said \u2014 and I\u2019m not embarrassed by identifying them \u2014 as one of you said on national television last night, we badly need a Republican Party.  We need a two-party system.  It\u2019s not healthy to have a one-party system. <\/p>\n<p>And I think the Republicans are further away from trying to figure out who they are and what they stand for than I thought they would be at this point.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, Mitch McConnell said that he is 100 percent focused on stopping this administration.  You\u2019ve spoken about your relationship with him in the past.  Do you still think you can work with him when he says things like that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Look, he said that in our last administration with Barack \u2014 he was going to stop everything \u2014 and I was able to get a lot done with him. <\/p>\n<p>Again \u2014 look, everything I\u2019m proposing that be done to generate economic growth, employment, and put us in a position where we can outcompete any other country in the world with research and development and moving ahead, I pay for.  We talk about \u201cI love\u2026\u201d  We talk about how, \u201cThis is going to cost so much money; I\u2019m not paying for it.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is this: My Republican friends had no problem voting to pass a tax proposal that expires in 2025, that cost $2 trillion \u2014 none of it paid for \u2014 increased the deficit by $2 trillion; gave the overwhelming percentage of those tax breaks to people who didn\u2019t need it: the top one tenth of 1 percent.  They didn\u2019t need it. <\/p>\n<p>And it was argued that what it would do is generate this great economic surge and growth.  It would increase productivity.  It would pay for itself.  It would generate a sense of growth in America we hadn\u2019t seen ever before.  Well, everyone from the Heritage Foundation on has pointed out it hadn\u2019t done that \u2014 hadn\u2019t done that. <\/p>\n<p>Now, I come along and the proposals that I\u2019m suggesting are tried-and-true things \u2014 like when you rebuild bridges, things get better; and you rebuild highways when you don\u2019t have to \u2014 you know, you \u2014 airports, ports \u2014 it all matters.  It increases productivity. <\/p>\n<p>And the programs that relate to people are programs that are the things that also generate economic growth.  And I view them as, for example, tax cuts for middle-class \u2014 upper-middle class, middle-class, and working-class people. <\/p>\n<p>And so you eliminate a few of the \u2014 just have the super wealthy begin to pay their fair share.  For example, you have \u2014 you know, you have \u2014 I think it\u2019s 35 or 30 corporations didn\u2019t pay a single solitary penny last year, and they\u2019re Fortune 500 companies.  They made $400 billion.  They paid no taxes. <\/p>\n<p>How can that make any sense?  Especially since these corporations \u2014 and I come from the corporate capital of the world; more corporations are incorporated in my state than all the rest of the country combined. <\/p>\n<p>If you notice, corporations aren\u2019t investing any money in research and development.  Somewhere \u2014 what\u2019s most of it going to?  Buying back their own stock; stock dividends, which makes sense \u2014 leaving, by some studies, less than 10 percent for research, development, pay raises, et cetera. <\/p>\n<p>Used to be that, not too long ago \u2014 for example, during the Bush administration, the tax rate for the very wealthy \u2014 making well over millions of dollars \u2014 was 39.6 percent.  It\u2019s now 37 percent.  Just raise it back to what it was before.<\/p>\n<p>It raises enough money from that savings to put every single person in community college who wants to go.  Now, what\u2019s going to grow America more?  What\u2019s going to help you and your security more: the super wealthy having to pay 3.- \u2014 yeah, 3.9 percent less tax or have an entire generation of Americans having associate degrees?  That\u2019s why all the economists, even on Wall Street, are pointing it out.  Guess what?  It grows the economy.  Benefits everybody.  Hurts nobody. <\/p>\n<p>But now, it\u2019s \u2014 talk to the \u2014 the Wall Street Journal (inaudible) talk about it: a welfare program.  It\u2019s about growth.  And so, you know, the idea that \u2014 it\u2019s just amazing. <\/p>\n<p>I mean, corporate taxes, they were 36 percent.  Our administration \u2014 the last administration said, \u201cWe should lower it.\u201d  We suggested it to be lowered to 28 percent.  Well, it\u2019s got lowered to 20 percent, or 21 percent. <\/p>\n<p>Show me something that\u2019s benefited.  What\u2019s happened?  Show me where the growth is.  What\u2019s it being invested in?<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, on the corporate tax rate, have you talked to CEOs about that?  And have you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 have you \u2014 are you open to, say, 25 percent? <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m open to compromising, yes.  It doesn\u2019t have to be exactly what I say, but to suggest that, which some of the folks are suggesting \u2014 and I\u2019m going to meet with Republicans next week when they come back, and seriously meet with them.  I\u2019m willing to compromise.  But I\u2019m not willing to not pay for what we\u2019re talking about.  I\u2019m not willing to deficit spend.  They already have us $2 trillion in the hole.<\/p>\n<p>So \u2014 and, by the way, you saw \u2014 you know, the \u2014 the last five leaders of the Fed coming out and saying \u2014 what\u2019d they say?  They said, \u201cBiden\u2019s plan is going to grow the economy.\u201d  You have Moody\u2019s talking about increasing it up to \u2014 I don\u2019t know what the most recent one is \u2014 16 million new jobs.  It\u2019s about growth, not stunting growth. <\/p>\n<p>Like I said, not too long ago \u2014 I guess it was back in the 2000 range, there about \u2014 don\u2019t hold me to the exact year; I\u2019ll get \u2014 I\u2019ll have my staff come back with the exact date \u2014 the average CEO of the Fortune 500 companies makes like 36 times what the average employee of that corporation made.  It\u2019s over 450 times as much now.<\/p>\n<p>And, as my mother would say, \u201cWho died and left them boss?\u201d  No, seriously.  What rationale?  Tell me what benefit flows from that.  We\u2019re not going to deprive any of these executives their \u2014 that second or third home; travel privately by jet.  Th- \u2014 it\u2019s not going to affect their standard of living at all, not a little tiny bit. <\/p>\n<p>But I can affect the standard of living of the people I grew up with \u2014 if they have a job, I can expect to make (inaudible) standard of living of people I grew up with \u2014 if they have childcare and can afford it so 20 million women can be back in the workforce.  This is just not \u2014 makes no sense to me. <\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s going to \u2014 I\u2019m going to have to be able to explain this, and I\u2019m going to keep banging at it.  I think \u2014 I\u2019m not being solicitous and I\u2019m not trying to ruin your reputation.  I think most of you understand what I\u2019m sa- \u2014 whether you agree with me or not, I think you understand what I\u2019m saying.  It\u2019s fair to say this is about making the average multimillionaire pay just a fair share.  It\u2019s not going to affect their standard of living a little bit.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good afternoon. Earlier today, I \u2014 I visited a restaurant here in town, Las \u2014 I\u2019m going to mispronounce it \u2014 Las Geme- \u2014 Las Gelameas [Gemelas]. And \u2014 which is a pilot program for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and an important piece of the American Rescue Plan. One of my goals with the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Fullscreen-capture-562021-10838-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/119539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}