American Rescue Plan Resources
This website serves as a central repository for state and local advocates involved in the implementation of the American Rescue Plan, a federal package that will help struggling families and state and local governments weather the COVID-19 crisis. State and local advocates will play a pivotal role to ensure states use their funds to reach those most in need and to conduct outreach so people have all the information they need to receive the maximum benefits for which they are eligible.
- Overview of the American Rescue Plan
- Polling and Messaging Guidance
- State and Local Aid
- Unemployment and Cash Benefits
- Immigration
- Housing Policy
- Health Policy
- Food Assistance
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Examples from other states
Overview of the American Rescue Plan
- Grid to understand the major provisions of the American Rescue Plan and state and local implementation decisions
- Timeline document (to complement the grid) showing how long the various ARP funding provisions will last
- CBPP’s paper summarizing the American Rescue Plan, which includes state data on how many people will benefit from certain provisions
- CBPP webinar on implementation of the American Rescue Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions on the American Rescue Plan drawing from questions asked during the above webinar
- Congressional Research Service Report: Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending
- 3 Principles for an Antiracist, Equitable State Response to COVID-19 — and a Stronger Recovery. We recommend these principles to guide American Rescue Plan implementation decisions, as well as other policy decisions that states or localities may make in responding to the pandemic and recess
- MomsRising blog on how to get the benefits of ARP
- White House ARP Resource one-pager
Polling and Messaging Guidance
- Messaging guidance on state implementation and demonstrating the continued need for state investments in addition to spending the federal relief dollars
- Topline: A polling overview memo on the wide support for ARP, as well as other public investment and progressive tax proposals
State and Local Aid
- Additional Treasury guidance on recipients’ compliance and reporting requirements
- CBPP webinar on Priorities for Spending the American Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
- CBPP Memo outlining Treasury’s interim rule on the flexible funds
- CBPP paper on how states should use the fiscal aid they will receive from the American Rescue Plan
- graphic sharables to use on social media
- CBPP’s blog on the American Rescue Plan’s important protection against using federal dollars to pay for state tax cuts, and why cutting state taxes now would be a mistake
- Alliance for Early Success Resource Center on how states can use funds from the American Rescue Plan to make new investments and significant changes to state early childhood policy
- Washington Post op-ed about the poor legal case 21 state attorneys general have presented against American Rescue Plan’s tax cut provision
Unemployment and Cash Benefits in the American Rescue Plan
- CBPP’s Get it Back Campaign landing page on the CTC and what’s new for 2021
- Guide on how to fill out the IRS non-filer form
- Blog on how you can get started with CTC outreach in your community
- Expert Q&A about the Unemployment Provisions of the American Rescue Plan
- Blog: What to know about the third stimulus checks
- Blog: What do I do if I didn’t get my first or second stimulus checks?
Immigration
- FAQ from CLASP: The Child Tax Credit and Mixed Immigration-Status Families. English and Spanish.
- CBPP memo detailing key supports available to immigrants and their families under the American Rescue Plan and other relief legislation.
- Memo on how states and localities can administer federal relief programs without an immigration test (when possible)
- Chart by Protecting Immigrant Families on immigrant eligibility for public programs during COVID-19
- Marketing Toolkit for Immigrant Outreach: the toolkit can be used to support outreach efforts to other hard to reach populations in addition to families with immigrants
- NILC: Answers to Common Questions about Immigrants’ Access to the COVID-19 Vaccines
- CBPP blog about the availability of COVID-related testing, vaccination, and services for immigrants
Housing Policy
- U.S Department of the Treasury FAQ on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program
- The Housing Equity Framework that provides guidance on how to use federal funding sources to increase housing stability and prevent increases in homelessness
- A report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition on rental assistance for rural communities
- National Low Income Housing Coalition Tracker on city and state emergency rental assistance programs
- Urban Institute Emergency Rental Assistance Priority Index that emphasizes an equitable approach
Health Policy
- Overview of health provisions in the American Rescue Plan
- Chart on health provisions in the American Rescue Plan by the National Academy for State Health Policy
- Overview of Medicaid expansion incentive
- Overview of other Medicaid provisions
- FAQ on how people can claim the enhanced premium tax credit
- FAQ on the temporary COBRA subsidy
- Recording and slides for Health Reform: Beyond the Basics Town Hall on how the American Rescue Plan affects marketplace health insurance premiums; how COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines are covered under different types of health coverage; and an update on public charge
- Fact sheet on COVID testing, treatment, and vaccine administration
- CBPP’s paper on how the American Rescue Plan strengthens Medicaid to help states weather the COVID-19 public health and economic crises
Food Assistance
- CBPP report on how food assistance in the American Rescue Plan Act will reduce hardship and provide economic stimulus
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- CBPP blog post on how ARP’s new $1 billion Pandemic Emergency Assistance fund for the TANF program will help families with the lowest incomes meet their added expenses or debt due to the pandemic. The blog also provides recommendations on how state can use the funds
Examples from Other States
- Analysis by California Budget & Policy Center on how ARP will help millions of Californians
- Report by Michigan League for Public Policy on how federal funding will help the state recover from the COVID-19 crisis
- Guide on ARP and recommendations on how Florida should spend the funds by Florida Policy Institute
- Op-ed by Colorado Fiscal Institute on why it’s a bad idea to use ARP dollars to backfill the state unemployment insurance trust fund
- Op-ed by Kansas Action for Children on how Kansas kids – and their families – could benefit from the American Rescue Plan
- Podcast by Oregon Center for Public Public on what ARP means for Oregonians and how it primarily benefits families with the most need