Advocates Cheer "Historic" Reduction of Poverty and Hunger in Relief Bill

After the passage of the American Rescue Plan by the U.S. House of Representatives today, anti-hunger advocates are celebrating this historic legislation that will reduce poverty during a time when 1 in 7 households in the U.S. are facing hunger. The $1.9 trillion relief package, which is on its way to President Biden for his signature, contains substantial funding increases for food assistance programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The package also contains a child tax credit for low-income families in the form of monthly payments of $300 per child for children under 6 and $250 per child for children 6-17 years old.

In response to the passage of the American Rescue Plan, Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, a nationwide nonpartisan direct service and advocacy organization, said:

"This bill will slash U.S. hunger and make a truly historic investment in cutting domestic child poverty in half. For anyone who still claims, 'both sides are the same' or 'nothing ever changes,' this ground-breaking package again proves that's just not true. This life-saving package, which is the most serious attempt to reduce U.S. hunger and poverty in at least 50 years, proves that who is in charge of our government matters - big time! President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are delivering on their promises to provide meaningful relief for the tens of millions of households that are struggling and to take important steps toward reducing economic inequality in the long-term.

We are also ecstatic that the new relief package includes funding to expand national service through the AmeriCorps program so that tens of thousands of people can serve their communities while the nation rebuilds from the pandemic. We look forward to continue serving low-income households with the new measures enacted by the Biden Administration and Congress to increase economic opportunity for all."