Washington, D.C. — New state polling shows overwhelming support in Florida for President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, with a 22-point margin, even after Floridians hear the most effective political arguments against it.
A new economic analysis from the Center for American Progress finds that Florida’s economy is in an extremely perilous state—but that the provisions of the American Rescue Plan would have a massive positive impact to rejuvenate it and provide desperately needed relief for Floridians.
- Provide $7.4 billion for schools in Florida to safely reopen.
- Extend federal unemployment benefits through 2021. Currently 380,000 Floridians are at risk of losing unemployment benefits.
- Increase the child tax credit to $3,000 per child, provide an additional $600 per child under the age of 6, make it fully refundable, and extend the maximum qualifying age to 17 to assist the caretakers of the 1.7 million eligible children in Florida.
- Enhance financial assistance for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, increasing marketplace premium subsidies available to the 1,800,000 Floridians who already receive financial assistance—and expanding assistance to thousands more low-income and middle-class families.
- Raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 over five years, giving 3.3 million Floridians—37 percent of the state’s workforce—a raise and providing an extra $10.5 billion in total state wages.
- Extend the federal moratoria on evictions and foreclosures. 6.3 million Floridians—39 percent of adults in the state—have fallen behind on basic household expenses. This would also extend aid to renters and small landlords and help secure housing for the 1.2 million Floridians who are at risk of homelessness.
- Provide another round of direct checks. The first round of direct checks reached 11.1 million Floridians as of June 2020 and provided $18.1 billion in spending power to the state. Additional $1,400 checks would provide $15.6 billion to the poorest 60 percent of Floridians, a group whose average annual income is just $29,000.
Click here to read the fact sheet: “Florida Supports—and Needs—the American Rescue Plan”
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at [email protected].