Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) Applaud Passage of $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan

“Today is a momentous day for millions of children here in the United States and around the world”

Washington, D.C. (March 10, 2021) – Save the Children and SCAN applaud today’s passage of the historic American Rescue Plan, which notably prioritizes the recovery of kids and families at home and abroad from COVID-19. The passage of this $1.9 trillion relief bill provides unprecedented funding to save the child care industry, address child hunger, lift children out of poverty, and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the world’s most vulnerable children.

“Today is a momentous day for millions of children here in the United States and around the world,” said Save the Children President and CEO, Janti Soeripto. “From funding to rebuild the child care industry, feed hungry children and combat child poverty in the U.S., to foreign assistance funding to address increasing malnutrition, lack of access to routine health services and gender-based violence, the benefits of this relief package will be far-reaching. I commend Congress’ commitment to kids and families through passing this historic legislation. It will enable millions of children and families to embark on the road to recovery after a devastating year.”

Save the Children and SCAN – the political advocacy arm of Save the Children – have been dedicatedly advocating for Congress to support the needs of children and families. Since the start of the pandemic, SCAN’s nationwide base of grassroots advocates have met with lawmakers, written opinion pieces and letters to the editor, and sent messages and handwritten notes to Congress. Over the last year alone, our supporters sent more than 460,000 messages to Congress. And, in direct support of the American Rescue Plan, our supporters sent 50,000 messages and more than 2,500 handwritten postcards urging Congress to include child-specific appropriations.

“I’m incredibly proud of the role SCAN’s advocates played in getting this unprecedented package over the finish line. Their commitment to bettering the lives of kids has been unwavering, and continues to inspire me each and every day,” said SCAN President, Mark Shriver. “Today’s victory is a true testament to the power of grassroots advocacy.”  

Critical provisions that benefit children and families include:

Early Childhood Education and Care

• $39 billion for the child care industry
       o   $15 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grants (CCDBG)
       o   $24 billion for stabilization funds
• $1 billion for Head Start to cover additional operating costs due to COVID-19
• $150 million for the  Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program
• Improvements to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit

Child Nutrition and Poverty

• Child nutrition
      o  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
             - 15% increase of benefit
             - $25 million for online purchasing and technology improvements
      o  Supplemental Nutrition Program from Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
             - $490 million to increase Cash Value Vouchers for fruits and vegetables to
               up to $35
             - $390 million to carry out outreach, innovations, and program
               modernizations efforts
      o  Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program will be expanded past
          COVID-19 to be available during any school year in which there is an
          emergency public health declaration
• Child poverty
  o  Increase the child tax credit to $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 annually for children under the age of 6 for the tax year 2021
  o  Advances to the 2021 credit through periodic payments of $250 for school-aged children

Foreign Assistance

• $11.8 billion to support the international response to COVID-19, including:
          o   global health funding to help stop virus spread and provide lifesaving services to children and families;
          o   emergency food assistance to address the sharp rise in child hunger; and,
          o   economic support to help stabilize at-risk communities, which may include support for ensuring children have access to an education and girls are protected from gender-based violence.