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American Rescue Plan ‘Keeps Delivering Positive Results’: NewDEAL Highlights ARPA’s Continued Success on Law’s Third Anniversary

News Category: News Posts

For Immediate Release:

DATE: March 11, 2024

Contact: Jared DeWese (NewDEAL), 202-660-1340 x 5, jared@newdealleaders.org

American Rescue Plan ‘Keeps Delivering Positive Results’: NewDEAL

Highlights ARPA’s Continued Success on Law’s Third Anniversary

NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan touts a new report showing how the American Rescue Plan continues to strengthen communities.

Washington, D.C. – In March of 2021, with the nation still reeling from the COVID pandemic's catastrophic economic and health impacts, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) into law. On today’s third anniversary of its enactment, NewDEAL has released a report highlighting the continued positive impact of the law, featuring case studies from ten cities and towns across the nation and recapping three years of progress driven by ARPA’s state and local recovery funds..

“Three years ago, the nation needed bold, decisive action in the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic, and President Biden and Congressional Democrats delivered,” NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan said on Monday. “The American Rescue Plan trusted state and local leaders to implement programs tailored to address the specific needs of their communities on issues ranging from housing to childcare to keeping small businesses open. And three years later, ARPA keeps delivering positive results.”

In the midst of the pandemic, ARPA helped more than eight million people stay in their homes, brought down the cost of health care, led to the lowest child poverty rates in American history, and helped more than 200,000 childcare centers remain open. In addition, America has created nearly 14 million new jobs and experienced historically low unemployment.

“National data shows that ARPA has worked, and there are stories from across the country about how it has allowed leaders like Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas to deliver tangible results for their residents,” Bultan added. “Three years later, it is clear that ARPA is a model for how to respond to an economic crisis. This new report highlights how government works best when federal, state, and local officials work hand-in-hand with the same goal of building a better America for today and tomorrow.”

NewDEAL’s report on ARPA’s third anniversary highlights ten projects that started or were significantly expanded over the past year. These projects include:

Phoenix, AZ: Mayor Kate Gallego used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to expand free Wi-Fi coverage in Phoenix, reaching 1.18 square miles around key public facilities. She also provided free broadband access in affordable housing developments, benefiting 5,000 low-income households.
Boston, MA: Leveraging American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Mayor Michelle Wu is investing in sustainable career pathways in Boston. These include PowerCorps, which trains underemployed individuals for careers in the green industry, and the Boston Sciences Workforce Initiative, which will provide training and support for workers to enter the biotech and life sciences industry.
New Bedford, MA: Made possible through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds, Mayor Jon Mitchell celebrated the groundbreaking for the new NorthStar Early Learning Academy, which will accommodate over 130 preschoolers and also serve as a community gathering place.
Kansas City, MO: Mayor Quinton Lucas allocated over $15 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to a city Housing Trust Fund, financing 26 projects to create hundreds of affordable units for vulnerable residents.
Lincoln, NE: Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird leveraged funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to make tangible progress on the "Water 2.0: Securing Lincoln’s Second Source" project, which aims to ensure the city's long-term water sustainability.
Manchester, NH: Building on earlier investments in affordable housing construction, former Mayor Joyce Craig approved $3.8 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and HOME funds for Affordable and Supportive Housing Initiatives, aimed at creating 188 units of affordable housing, reopening a women’s shelter, and sustaining a housing voucher program.
Cleveland, OH: Mayor Justin Bibb used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as seed funding to enact a pioneering initiative, the Neighborhood Safety Fund, to promote community-driven programs to reduce violence in the city.
Scranton, PA: Following a flash flood in September 2023, Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti leveraged American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish a disaster relief fund to provide up to $5,000 for eligible households and businesses for recovery efforts.
Providence, RI: Mayor Brett Smiley has strategically deployed $4.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding over the past year to address housing issues in the city, creating or extending 444 emergency shelter beds and earmarking an additional $1.7 million to aid over 600 households with emergency housing support.
Newport News, VA: Mayor Phillip Jones used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to invest in a new early childhood center to alleviate the city's lack of affordable childcare. The center will provide sliding-scale tuition to serve up to 200 children and will prepare the next generation of childcare professionals through an on-site training program.

“When families and the economy were hurting in the aftermath of the pandemic, Democrats delivered,” Bultan said. “And those investments are still delivering to this day.”

About NewDEAL

The NewDEAL supports a network of about 200 state and local officials—statewide officials, legislators, mayors, council members, and other local leaders across the country—who are pro-growth progressives. The organization brings together leaders focused on expanding opportunity, helping them develop and spread innovative ideas to spur broadly earned and sustainable economic growth.