DOTHAN, Ala. – First Lady Jill Biden visited Birmingham today as part of the “Help is Here Tour” to promote the American Rescue Plan and tout its impact on helping children.
Biden flew into the Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base in Birmingham, touching down at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport at 10:35 a.m.. She was greeted there on the tarmac by Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell.
Her first stop after leaving the airport was the James Rushton Early Learning Center in Woodlawn, where she met with children.
At the YWCA of Central Alabama, Biden gave a speech in which she touted the benefits of the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. “The American Rescue Plan is going to change your life in so many ways,” Biden said. “We’re going to create a life raft for families that are drowning.”
She said the plan will cut child poverty in half, with payments going out this summer for families with children, through child tax credits. The credits will be $3,600 for children under six and $3,000 for older children, she said. By next year, families will be able to get half of their childcare expenses back, up to $8,000.
“We want to help families get back on dry ground,” Biden said. “Parents want to work but they can’t if they’re busy taking care of their children. That’s why millions of women have dropped out of the work force. We are reopening schools safely. We’re going to make sure you have affordable, safe, childcare options as well.”
Her husband, President Joe Biden, is “a president for all Americans,” she said. “He’s going to make sure you have what you need to get through.”
The stimulus plan will help families get “back on dry land,” Biden said.
“That’s what the American Rescue Plan is all about,” she said. “Help for families today so that we can build back better tomorrow.”
Biden’s visit was previously scheduled to happen on March 26. It was postponed because of destructive tornadoes that swept through Alabama on March 25, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes.
