Rep. Ron Kind Votes to Move COVID-19 Relief Through Ways and Means Committee

Press Release

Today, Rep. Ron Kind and the Ways and Means Committee took steps to deliver much needed relief to the American people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis it has caused. The legislative proposals passed by the Ways and Means Committee today spanned issues from extending unemployment insurance to delivering another round of direct assistance for Wisconsinites to expanding the child tax credit.

"It's been more than a year since the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the United States. Since then, we've seen far too many lives upended as our nation continues to face both a public health and economic crisis due to this pandemic," said Rep. Ron Kind. "The time for action is now and Wisconsinites need to know help is on the way. This COVID-19 relief package takes meaningful steps to support struggling families, end the public health emergency, and get our economy back on track. There's no time to waste -- Wisconsin families need relief now."

Rep. Kind's legislation to help ensure nursing homes have the resources they need to crush the COVID-19 virus was also included as part of President Biden's American Rescue Plan. Other key Ways and Means measures include:

Providing additional direct assistance by giving working families an additional direct payment of $1,400 per person to bring total relief to $2,000 per person
Strengthening retirement security by stabilizing the pensions for more than 1 million Americans who participate in multiemployer plans
Extending temporary federal unemployment and benefits through August 29, 2021 and increasing the weekly benefit from $300 to $400
Enhancing the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without children
Expanding the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under 6) and making it fully refundable and advanceable
Helping families access high-quality child care by expanding the Child and Dependent Tax Credit to allow families to claim up to half their child care expenses
Reducing health care premiums by increasing the Affordable Care Act's premium tax credits for 2021 and 2022
Rep. Kind is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful - and the oldest - committee in the House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over tax measures, the management of public debt, trade and tariff laws, Social Security, Medicare, pensions, and many other economic growth measures.

Source