President Biden’s economic recovery project, known as the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, was recently passed by Congress in spring 2021. Briefly, the plan offers economic relief in three key areas:
Direct financial relief to Americans, with $1,400 per person checks as the centerpiece; housing and nutrition assistance; access to safe and reliable childcare; and affordable healthcare.
Specific guidelines to safely reopen schools.
The national vaccination program assists in the containment and spread of the COVID-19. This directive of the American Rescue Plan could provide the greatest impact on American veterans.
The answers are based on a massive $17 billion infusion of the $1.9 trillion allocated to the VA’s nationwide response to the pandemic, resulting in the largest VA budget in the agency’s history.
Most of these funds, approximately $14.5 of the $17 billion, have been earmarked for vaccine distribution, health care, mental health care, staffing, suicide prevention research, and women’s health. This also includes and assists in expanding other programs, including telehealth, homeless programs, and the inventory of PPE (personal protective equipment).
According to VA officials, the funds are both important and necessary, as more than 19 million appointments with the VA were canceled, changed, or deferred during the height of the pandemic. This will be an accelerated effort and includes increased costs.
In addition, an unknown number of veterans became unemployed during the pandemic, losing their employer-sponsored health insurance. The aftereffects increased the numbers of veterans relying on VA health care at a higher-than-normal rate.
The remaining funds have been earmarked to assist with the following programs:
• $1 billion to waive veterans’ medical debts incurred during the pandemic.
• $270 million to reduce the backlog of compensation and pension claims (which grew from 76,000 in March 2020 to more than 212,000 in March 2021).
• $386 million to launch a COVID-19 Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program to provide training and aid for placing veterans in high-demand occupations.
• About $750 million to the country’s 158 state-run veterans’ homes for construction projects, the purchase of PPE, and hiring qualified personnel.
• $100 million to modernize the Veterans Affair’s supply chain.
• $80 million to establish an emergency fund to provide VA employees with paid leave.
• $10 million for the VA’s Office of Inspector General to conduct oversight.
Government officials who supported the legislation have hailed this as transformative and historic. In the coming months, veterans nationwide can benefit from this legislation first-hand.
For additional information about Biden’s plan, visit the White House American Rescue Plan.