Pandemic Relief
January 24, 2023
The American Rescue Plan
– Sen. Cantwell, February 2021
Keeping Students Connected to School Online:
“As we’ve faced a pandemic, the internet has become the place to go to work, to attend school, to see friends, to help visit the doctors, and do many of the day-to-day things that we've all had to do in our lives. We’ve had to struggle throughout the pandemic, but imagine what life would have been like if we didn't have the internet during that time period. For millions of Americans, they don't have to imagine because some of them really didn't have access to the internet.” – Sen. Cantwell
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 12 million children in the United States lacked internet access at home and were unable to participate in online learning or complete their homework. In the State of Washington, between 12 percent and 21 percent of K-12 students did not have the technology or internet connectivity required for remote learning in 2020, according to the state superintendent.
Early in the pandemic, Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Markey created the Emergency Educational Connections Act, which later inspired the Emergency Connectivity Fund that supports remote learning and brought $7.17 billion to schools and libraries. Washington students received $65,026,456.
For students without reliable broadband, the funding kept them from falling behind at school.
Read More About the Emergency Connectivity Fund
Restoring Amtrak Service:
The American Rescue Plan ensured that the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight Amtrak routes were able to continue to serve routes across the Northwest, including Montana’s Hi-Line and 15 stations in the State of Washington, the majority of which support small and rural communities.
Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Tester worked together to advocate for Amtrak support. With their help, routes were restored to pre-pandemic service levels in May 2021.
“Montanans from Wolf Point to Libby rely on the Empire Builder to visit family and friends, conduct business, and stay connected with the rest of the country, and these cuts were an unacceptable attack on our frontier communities. Today is a great day for thousands who live and work on the Hi-Line. I was proud to lead this fight to return full, daily Amtrak service to Montana, which will reinstate furloughed employees, boost the local economy, and get folks back to work across our state.” - Sen. Tester
Protecting Aviation Jobs:
The pandemic was an existential crisis for the aviation manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul industries. Air travel demand dropped by 96 percent to a level not seen since the 1950s, and Boeing and Airbus cut production of most aircraft models by 30-50 percent.
The Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection (AMJP) Program provided $673 million to stabilize the aviation manufacturing industry. Sen. Cantwell led the effort to establish and secure funding for the program in the American Rescue Plan that was enacted in March 2021.
For many aviation workers, the AMJP saved their jobs. Nationwide, nearly 31,000 jobs were protected at a total of 593 aviation manufacturing companies across 43 states and Puerto Rico, including an estimated 3,150 aerospace jobs in the State of Washington.
For aviation manufacturing companies, the AMJP helped keep expert employees from leaving the industry so they could maintain the U.S. aviation manufacturing supply chain.
In the State of Washington, Tacoma-based aviation manufacturer Tool Gauge received more than $600,000 to protect the jobs of 38 employees.
“We [knew] that when the downturn of aviation demand happened during COVID, that we were going to need to do something to help stabilize the supply chain. We knew that when our economy started to rebound and that aerospace demand started to return, that if we had lost these jobs…we might not ever get them back. And with this level of critical skill, we knew that our region could not afford to lose one more aviation worker.”
Sen. Cantwell visited Tool Gauge, an AMJP recipient, in Tacoma, Washington, in February 2022
Read More About the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Program
Payroll Support Relief for Airline Workers:
In response to severe impacts and disruptions to the U.S. airline industry caused by the pandemic, Sen. Cantwell and her colleagues designed the Payroll Support Program (PSP), initially included as part of the CARES Act, to protect the airline workforce, support the continuity of safe and essential travel, and ensure the industry’s ability to meet future travel demand.
The American Rescue Plan extended the PSP for a third round, providing $15 billion to keep airline workers and contractors on payroll without furloughs or reduced pay rates and benefits until September 30, 2021. The PSP had already been extended once through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
The PSP gave airline industry employees peace of mind and job security - the first round of PSP relief alone saved 386,200 direct full-time U.S. airline jobs (approximately 85 percent of the pre-pandemic workforce) and indirectly supported another 349,600 jobs, including 74,750 supply chain jobs. PSP delivered more than $109 billion in total value to the U.S. economy and taxpayers.
Read More About the Payroll Support Program
Keeping Americans Traveling: Extension of COVID-19 Relief for Airports:
As part of the American Rescue Plan, Sen. Cantwell advocated for and secured the inclusion of $8 billion in continuing pandemic relief for airport sponsors to prevent, prepare for and respond to the effects of the pandemic.
As a condition of receiving funding, airports were required to continue employing at least 90 percent of their workforce, as measured by employment levels as of March 27, 2020. All airports receiving funding were directed not to use such funds for any purpose not directly related to the airport.
Funding was made available to airports beginning in fiscal year 2021 in an effort to address immediate pandemic-related needs and will remain available until September 30, 2024.
