First Lady Jill Biden will visit Alabama for the first time since her husband was inaugurated as president.
Biden is scheduled to visit the Birmingham area on Friday to highlight provisions in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act relating to childhood poverty, according to the city of Birmingham. More details about where Biden will visit will be announced later.
A study from the nonpartisan Urban Institute and Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center found that the poorest 20% of Americans would receive a 20% income increase.
The COVID-19 federal relief package was signed into law on March 11, and was voted mostly along party lines.
Within the package is an allowance for most working and middle-class families to receive an expanded child tax credit worth up to $3,600 for each child under the age of 6, and $3,000 for each child ages 6 through 17. The White House anticipates the changes in the Child Tax Credit to cut child poverty in half.
In Alabama, a report released in December shows that children of color experience disproportionately high rates of poverty. The report titled Alabama Kids Count, indicates that children of color will make up the majority of the child population and the majority of the workforce by 2030. At the same time, Black and Hispanic children suffered average poverty rates of 41.9% and 42.6%, respectively, between 2014 and 2018. The rate for white children was 16.5%.
The bill will also cut child poverty in half, according to the president, by expanding a child tax credit program to more families and increasing the tax credit. Families with
children would receive, on average, a tax cut of over$6,000, according to the study.
Biden is participating in a nationwide tour to promote the American Rescue Plan Act. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are also participating in the “Help is Here” tour. The mission is to educate Americans on what’s inside the COVID-19 relief package.