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TheAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was a federalbudget reconciliation bill passed by the117th Congress and signed into law by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on March 11, 2021, to provide economic relief in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic. To read the full text of the bill, clickhere.

According to the White House, the key features of the law included the following government initiatives and investments:^[1]

• Spend approximately $160 billion on national vaccination program and response
• Spend approximately $130 billion to safely reopen schools
• Distribute $1,400 per person in relief payments
• Extend unemployment benefits to September 6, 2021
• Increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 15 percent through September 2021
• Increase the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,000 per child over age 6 and $3,600 per child under age 6
• Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit
• Expand childcare assistance and provide an additional tax credit for childcare costs
• Provide $1 billion to states for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients
• Lower health insurance premiums

The bill was passed through thebudget reconciliation process, which provides a procedural path around the supermajority requirement in the Senate. It was created by theCongressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to facilitate a quicker process for reviewing and passing certain bills related to spending, revenues, and debt. This process is not subject to the filibuster and only requires a simple majority vote.^[2] No Republican House or Senate member supported the bill.

This page provides the following information about the American Rescue Plan Act:

• Summary of the bill: A summary of the bill prepared by the Congressional Research Service:
• Estimated budgetary effects: An overview of the bill's estimated budgetary effects prepared by the Congressional Budget Office.
• Timeline of congressional action: Key dates and votes relating to the bill's passage.
• Budget reconciliation process: An overview of the budget reconciliation process used to pass the bill.
• Vote-a-rama: An overview of the vote-a-rama that took place in relation to this bill.
• Key roll calls: An overview of how each U.S. representative and senator voted on the bill.
• Support and opposition: Statements of support and opposition from party leaders.
• Independent analysis: Links to independent analysis of the costs and benefits of the bill.

Details of the bill

Budget reconciliation
Unpacking the reconciliation process
•How reconciliation works •Why reconciliation is used •History of use •Analysis of use •Limits on reconciliation •The Byrd Rule •Filibuster and reconciliation •Vote-a-ramas
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Summary of the bill

The following bill summary was prepared by theCongressional Research Service:

Estimated budgetary effects

TheCongressional Budget Office produced the data in the following table showing the estimated budgetary effects of the American Rescue Plan Act from 2021 to 2031. Figures are listed in millions of dollars. Scroll right to see the full range of years.^[5]

Congressional action

Timeline

The following section provides an abbreviated timeline of key actions in the passage of ARPA.^[6]

• March 11, 2021: Signed into law by PresidentJoe Biden (D)
• March 10, 2021: House agreed to the Senate amendment by a vote of 220-211
• March 6, 2021: Passed the Senate with amendment by a vote of 50-49
• February 27, 2021: Passed the House by a vote of 219-212
• February 24, 2021: Introduced in the House by Rep.John Yarmuth (D-Ky.)

Budget reconciliation process

See also:Budget reconciliation in the United States Congress

Budget reconciliation is a legislative process created by theCongressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Under the act, reconciliation can be used on legislation that changes the federal debt limit, revenue, or spending. As it relates to spending, reconciliation can be used to consider changes in spending on entitlement programs with the exception of Social Security. Because appropriations under mandatory spending are typically codified, amendments to those laws are often required.

In the Senate, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), "reconciliation bills aren’t subject to filibuster and the scope of amendments is limited."^[7]

For reconciliation measures to be considered by Congress, both chambers must agree on a budget resolution. This resolution must include resolution instructions, which contain four elements:

• the relevant committee(s) to which the instruction is directed,
• the deadline by which committee compliance must be achieved,
• the specific change to either revenues, spending, or the debt (in dollars), and
• the time period over which those budgetary changes must be achieved.

Once both chambers agree on a budget resolution, committees have until their specified deadlines in the resolution guidelines to produce reconciliation measures. Once a committee develops reconciliation measures, the committee then votes on whether to report the resolution. Once a measure is reported to the chamber, and the measure passes, resolution of differences between the chambers is typically addressed in conference. The Senate, however, limits debate time on a conference budget resolution.^[8][9]

Congress is limited to using reconciliation for only one bill for each of the fiscal changes provided for in the reconciliation instructions, that is, changes to revenues, spending, and the debt limit. A single bill may make changes to all three, or two of three, but Congress cannot consider multiple bills satisfying the same instruction in a budget resolution. Thus, "Congress may not consider multiple tax bills under reconciliation procedures, or a bill that includes revenue and outlays and then another tax bill under the same budget resolution."^[8]

Vote-a-rama

See also:Vote-a-ramas in the U.S. Senate

As part of thebudget reconciliation process in the U.S. Senate, senators were allowed to propose amendments to the reconciliation bill after the debate period has ended. Senators would briefly explain the amendment before the Senate proceeded to a roll call with a 10-minute duration. This process, sometimes called thevote-a-rama, had no procedural limit on the number of amendments that could be proposed.^[10]

During the vote-a-rama for the American Rescue Plan Act, 37 roll call votes were held on March 5-6, 2021.^[11]

Roll calls

House vote on Senate amendment (March 10, 2021)

The House voted 220-210 to adopt the Senate amendment on March 10, 2021.

• 220 Democrats voted yes.
• One Democrat—Rep.Jared Golden (D-Maine)—voted no.
• 210 Republicans voted no and one did not vote.

Senate vote with amendment (March 6, 2021)

The Senate voted 50-49 to pass the bill with amendment on March 6, 2021.

• All 48 Democrats voted to pass the bill.
• The two independents who caucus with Democrats also voted to pass the bill.
• 49 Republicans voted against the bill.
• One Republican did not vote.

Senate vote with amendment (March 6, 2021)
Senator	Party	State	Vote
Alabama	Richard Shelby	Republican	No
Alabama	Tommy Tuberville	Republican	No
Alaska	Lisa Murkowski	Republican	No
Alaska	Dan Sullivan	Republican	Not voting
Arizona	Kyrsten Sinema	Democrat	Yes
Arizona	Mark Kelly	Democrat	Yes
Arkansas	John Boozman	Republican	No
Arkansas	Tom Cotton	Republican	No
California	Dianne Feinstein	Democrat	Yes
California	Alex Padilla	Democrat	Yes
Colorado	Michael F. Bennet	Democrat	Yes
Colorado	John Hickenlooper	Democrat	Yes
Connecticut	Richard Blumenthal	Democrat	Yes
Connecticut	Chris Murphy	Democrat	Yes
Delaware	Tom Carper	Democrat	Yes
Delaware	Chris Coons	Democrat	Yes
Florida	Rick Scott	Republican	No
Florida	Marco Rubio	Republican	No
Georgia	Jon Ossoff	Democrat	Yes
Georgia	Raphael Warnock	Democrat	Yes
Hawaii	Mazie Hirono	Democrat	Yes
Hawaii	Brian Schatz	Democrat	Yes
Idaho	Mike Crapo	Republican	No
Idaho	James E. Risch	Republican	No
Illinois	Dick Durbin	Democrat	Yes
Illinois	Tammy Duckworth	Democrat	Yes
Indiana	Mike Braun	Republican	No
Indiana	Todd Young	Republican	No
Iowa	Chuck Grassley	Republican	No
Iowa	Joni Ernst	Republican	No
Kansas	Roger Marshall	Republican	No
Kansas	Jerry Moran	Republican	No
Kentucky	Mitch McConnell	Republican	No
Kentucky	Rand Paul	Republican	No
Louisiana	Bill Cassidy	Republican	No
Louisiana	John Kennedy	Republican	No
Maine	Susan Collins	Republican	No
Maine	Angus King	Independent	Yes
Maryland	Benjamin L. Cardin	Democrat	Yes
Maryland	Chris Van Hollen	Democrat	Yes
Massachusetts	Elizabeth Warren	Democrat	Yes
Massachusetts	Ed Markey	Democrat	Yes
Michigan	Debbie Stabenow	Democrat	Yes
Michigan	Gary Peters	Democrat	Yes
Minnesota	Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	Yes
Minnesota	Tina Smith	Democrat	Yes
Mississippi	Roger Wicker	Republican	No
Mississippi	Cindy Hyde-Smith	Republican	No
Missouri	Josh Hawley	Republican	No
Missouri	Roy Blunt	Republican	No
Montana	Steve Daines	Republican	No
Montana	Jon Tester	Democrat	Yes
Nebraska	Deb Fischer	Republican	No
Nebraska	Ben Sasse	Republican	No
Nevada	Jacky Rosen	Democrat	Yes
Nevada	Catherine Cortez Masto	Democrat	Yes
New Hampshire	Jeanne Shaheen	Democrat	Yes
New Hampshire	Maggie Hassan	Democrat	Yes
New Jersey	Robert Menendez	Democrat	Yes
New Jersey	Cory Booker	Democrat	Yes
New Mexico	Ben Ray Luján	Democrat	Yes
New Mexico	Martin Heinrich	Democrat	Yes
New York	Charles E. Schumer	Democrat	Yes
New York	Kirsten Gillibrand	Democrat	Yes
North Carolina	Richard Burr	Republican	No
North Carolina	Thom Tillis	Republican	No
North Dakota	John Hoeven	Republican	No
North Dakota	Kevin Cramer	Republican	No
Ohio	Rob Portman	Republican	No
Ohio	Sherrod Brown	Democrat	Yes
Oklahoma	James M. Inhofe	Republican	No
Oklahoma	James Lankford	Republican	No
Oregon	Ron Wyden	Democrat	Yes
Oregon	Jeff Merkley	Democrat	Yes
Pennsylvania	Pat Toomey	Republican	No
Pennsylvania	Robert P. Casey	Democrat	Yes
Rhode Island	Jack Reed	Democrat	Yes
Rhode Island	Sheldon Whitehouse	Democrat	Yes
South Carolina	Lindsey Graham	Republican	No
South Carolina	Tim Scott	Republican	No
South Dakota	John Thune	Republican	No
South Dakota	Mike Rounds	Republican	No
Tennessee	Bill Hagerty	Republican	No
Tennessee	Marsha Blackburn	Republican	No
Texas	John Cornyn	Republican	No
Texas	Ted Cruz	Republican	No
Utah	Mitt Romney	Republican	No
Utah	Mike Lee	Republican	No
Vermont	Patrick Leahy	Democrat	Yes
Vermont	Bernie Sanders	Independent	Yes
Virginia	Mark R. Warner	Democrat	Yes
Virginia	Tim Kaine	Democrat	Yes
Washington	Maria Cantwell	Democrat	Yes
Washington	Patty Murray	Democrat	Yes
West Virginia	Shelley Moore Capito	Republican	No
West Virginia	Joe Manchin	Democrat	Yes
Wisconsin	Ron Johnson	Republican	No
Wisconsin	Tammy Baldwin	Democrat	Yes
Wyoming	John Barrasso	Republican	No
Wyoming	Cynthia Lummis	Republican	No

House vote (February 27, 2021)

The House voted 219-212 to pass the bill on February 27, 2021.

• 219 Democrats voted yes.
• Two Democrats—Rep.Jared Golden (D-Maine) andKurt Schrader (D-Ore.)—voted no.
• 210 Republicans voted no and one did not vote.

Support and opposition

The following section includes statements of support and opposition to the bill from Democratic and Republican members of Congress.

Support

Opposition

Independent analysis

This section includes links to independent analysis of the costs and benefits of the American Rescue Plan Act.

• American Enterprise Institute:The American Rescue Plan’s likely cost is way more than $1.9 trillion
• Brookings Institute:The American Rescue Plan’s secret ingredient? Flexible state and local aid.
• Cato Institute:We’re Paying $1.9 Trillion for What?
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:American Rescue Plan Act Will Help Millions and Bolster the Economy
• Economic Policy Institute:The American Rescue Plan clears a path to recovery for state and local governments and the communities they serve
• The Heritage Foundation:Joe Biden’s Coronavirus Stimulus Bill: A $1.9 Trillion Disaster
• Kaiser Family Foundation:Impact of Key Provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 COVID-19 Relief on Marketplace Premiums
• National Association of Counties:NACo Analysis of the American Rescue Plan Act
• The Tax Foundation:The American Rescue Plan Act Greatly Expands Benefits through the Tax Code in 2021
• Tax Policy Center:TPC Releases A New Distributional Analysis Of The Pandemic Relief Bill
• Urban Institute:2021 Poverty Projections: Assessing Four American Rescue Plan Policies

Key legislation during Biden administration

This section provides links to coverage of key federal legislation considered during theBiden administration. To be included, the bill must have met several of the following qualifying factors:

• Collaboration between the president and congressional leadership on the bill
• Use of the reconciliation process to pass the bill
• Changes to the congressional procedure to pass the bill
• Estimated cost of the bill as evaluated by theCongressional Budget Office
• Extent of public relations campaign to promote the bill
• Domestic and international policy ramifications

Legislation in the 118th Congress

• H.R.815: Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes.
• Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
• H.J.Res.7: Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020.
• H.J.Res.30: Providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights"

Legislation in the 117th Congress

• Respect for Marriage Act of 2022
• Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022
• Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
• Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022
• Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act (amendment to H.R. 5746: NASA Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2021)
• American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
• Build Back Better Act
• Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2022
• For the People Act of 2021
• Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021

See also

• HR 1319—American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
• 117th Congress
• HR1, "For the People Act of 2021"
• Arguments for and against the filibuster, 2021

External links

• Congressional Research Services, "The Budget Reconciliation Process: Timing of Legislative Action," accessed December 23, 2024
• Congressional Research Service, "The Budget Reconciliation Process: The Senate’s 'Byrd Rule.'"
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Introduction to Budget “Reconciliation”, May 6, 2022
• Committee for Responsible Federal Budget, "Reconciliation 101," November 18, 2024
• Brownstein, "Reconciliation 101 and What It Means for 2025," November 13, 2024
• The Center for Children & Families (CCF) at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, "The Budget Resolution and Reconciliation Process Explained," December 11, 2024
• Reuters, "Explainer: How Republicans plan to pass Trump's agenda through 'reconciliation'," December 16, 2024
• Tax Foundation, "Questions About Tax Cuts, Tariffs, and Reconciliation After the Election," November 13, 2024

Footnotes