President Biden Announces $1.8 Trillion American Families Plan
Posted May 07, 2021
The Biden Administration announced on April 28 the American Families Plan, a $1.8 trillion proposal to invest in childcare, education, and healthcare. The American Families Plan outlines massive investments in pre-school, child nutrition, community colleges, Pell Grants, and healthcare spending. It also proposes the creation of a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program. Other key highlights in the American Families Plan include:
- $109 billion to make two years of community college education free
- $80 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $1,400
- $62 billion for retention and completion programs at colleges that serve large numbers of low-income students
- $39 billion to subsidize tuition at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions
- $200 billion to expand the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits
- Significant tax changes for high-earners to generate $1.5 trillion to partially offset the Plan costs
Congress will now have to translate the American Families Plan into legislation. However, the likelihood of passing this proposal, as well as President Biden’s infrastructure proposal, the American Jobs Plan, remains uncertain. Both proposals have faced strong Republican pushback with questions being raised on the trillions already spent through the recent COVID aid packages this past year. With a bipartisan deal unlikely, congressional Democratic leadership will need to decide whether to use the policy-limited, budget reconciliation process, requiring only a simple majority, to move proposals under the Plan.
A comprehensive analysis of the American Families Plan can be found here.