Biden signs $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan with stimulus checks and school funding

President Biden signs the American Rescue Plan Act, his first major legislative achievement, on a historic one-year anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID a pandemic. The $1.9 trillion package includes $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in state and local government aid, $130 billion for K-12 school reopening, expanded unemployment benefits of $300/week through September, extended eviction moratorium, $28.6 billion for restaurants, $15 billion for airlines, expanded Child Tax Credit, and $1.9 billion for the 1776 Commission abolition and racial equity initiatives. The bill passes the Senate 50-49 without a single Republican vote. Independent economists credit it with driving the fastest jobs recovery in US history.