Earlier today, President Biden unveiled his American Families Plan, which includes $1.8 trillion in new spending and is the second part of his infrastructure proposal. A fact sheet is available here. The President will discuss the proposal tonight as part of his first joint address to Congress. The proposal calls for expanding existing institutional aid grants to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, and explicitly states that they may use such funding to create or expand educational programs in high-demand fields such as allied health. Key portions of the plan are below.
“The American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan are once-in-a-generation investments in our nation’s future. The American Jobs Plan will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country’s physical infrastructure and workforce, and spark innovation and manufacturing here at home. The American Families Plan is an investment in our children and our families—helping families cover the basic expenses that so many struggle with now, lowering health insurance premiums, and continuing the American Rescue Plan’s historic reductions in child poverty. Together, these plans reinvest in the future of the American economy and American workers, and will help us out-compete China and other countries around the world”.
The American Families Plan is designed “To grow the middle class, expand the benefits of economic growth to all Americans, and leave the United States more competitive”. Among its highlights:
· $46 billion for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to provide two years of subsidized tuition and expand programs in high-demand fields including:
$39 billion program that provides two years of subsidized tuition for students from families earning less than $125,000 enrolled in a four-year HBCU, TCU, or MSI.
$5 billion to expand existing institutional aid grants to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, which can be used by these institutions to strengthen their academic, administrative, and fiscal capabilities, including by creating or expanding educational programs in high-demand fields (e.g., STEM, computer sciences, nursing, and allied health).
An additional $2 billion directed towards building a pipeline of skilled health care workers with graduate degrees (page 5 of the fact sheet)
· $109 billion for two years of free community college so that every student has the ability to obtain a degree or certificate, including DREAMers.
Students could utilize this benefit over three years and, if circumstances warrant, up to four years, recognizing that many students’ lives and other responsibilities can make full-time enrollment difficult. If all states, territories, and Tribes participate, about 5.5 million students would pay $0 in tuition and fees. (see page 4 of the fact sheet)
· Increase the maximum Pell Grant by $1,400 ($85 billion). The plan also allows DREAMers to access Pell Grants. (see page 4-5 of the fact sheet)
· $62 billion to invest in evidence-based strategies to strengthen completion and retention rates at colleges and universities that serve high numbers of low-income students, particularly community colleges.
States, territories, and Tribes will receive grants to provide funding to colleges that adopt innovative, proven solutions for student success, including wraparound services ranging from child care and mental health services to faculty and peer mentoring; emergency basic needs grants; practices that recruit and retain diverse faculty; transfer agreements between colleges; and evidence-based remediation programs. (see page 5 of the fact sheet)
· $200 billion for universal preschool for all three and four-year-old children. (pages 7-8)
· Unemployment Insurance (UI) reform – the Administration proposes to work with Congress to automatically adjust the length and amount of UI benefits unemployed workers receive depending on economic conditions. (page 11)
· $225 billion for child care for low and middle income families to ensure low and middle-income families pay no more than 7 percent of their income on high-quality child care for children under 5-years-old. (pages 7-8)
Invest in the early child care workforce - $15 minimum wage for early childhood staff to ensure that those with similar qualifications as kindergarten teachers receive comparable compensation and benefits. And, it will ensure child care workers receive job-embedded coaching and professional development, along with additional training opportunities funded by the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.
· $225 billion for a national paid family and medical leave program. (pages 8-9)
· $800 billion to extend the Child Care Tax Credit increase through 2025 and make the permanently extend the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion for childless workers, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, as well as ACA premiums tax credits. (pages 11-13)