Lawmakers have introduced several measures that would expand the so-called child tax credit, which currently provides parents $2,000 per child annually.
Fact-checking 7 statistical claims from Biden’s (quite factual) economic speech
President Joe Biden recited a flurry of figures in a Friday speech in which he urged Congress to pass the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package he calls the American Rescue Plan.
We fact-checked many of the statistical claims Biden made in the speech and found Biden was highly factual, though there are some nuances worth noting. Here’s an assessment of seven of the claims we looked into:
Job losses in education
Biden noted that his plan includes funding for local governments to keep critical public employees on the job; his predecessor Donald Trump and other Republicans resisted this kind of direct aid to state and local governments. Biden said: “Over the last year, more than 600,000 educators have lost their jobs in the cities and towns.”
Food insecurity has become a widespread issue amid the Covid crisis, especially after relief such as $1,200 direct checks and the additional $600 per week in unemployment benefits extended by the CARES Act in March ran out. At the end of September, nearly 20% of all adults and 40% of those in a family where at least one adult lost a job reported food insecurity, according to the Urban Institute. Food hardship has increased significantly during Covid-19, especially for households headed by Black and Latinx adults, said Luis Guardia, president of the Food Research & Action Center. SNAP benefits can help provide the nutrition those households need.
Economists and policymakers expressed huge relief as the US Congress announced a deal on a $900bn (€735bn) stimulus package to aid the rapidly deteriorating economy, but the smaller size of the legislation, the omission of several key provisions and the fact that some of the aid expires in March left analysts warning that more spending may be needed next year.
As the coronavirus has worsened, so has the economic outlook. Retail sales are sagging, small-business closures are the worst in six months, unemployment applications just hit a four-month high, manufacturing is slowing down, and hunger, especially among families with kids, is at the highest point in this recession. Meanwhile, companies such as Disney and Southwest Airlines are warning of thousands more layoffs.