Jill Biden tells parents her husband Joe will cut child poverty in half


Jill Biden learned about chemical reactions and early childhood learning during a visit to Birmingham on Friday to tout her husband’s $2trillion American Rescue Plan and claim it will cut childhood poverty rates in half. 

‘The American Rescue Plan is going to cut child poverty in half,’ she said, calling it a ‘life raft’ for struggling families. 

Children have been one of the groups hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic with the poverty rate rising as parents lost jobs amid the economic down turn. 

‘I’ve heard the frustration, again, again, you know, what do I do,’ she said. ‘Parents are at the breaking point, you know, trying to keep their jobs and take care of their kids. Families are struggling.’

In her remarks, Biden said was speaking as a mom to all the parents out there: ‘So many of us find ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, you know, long after the kids are in bed, surrounded by bills, you know, trying to figure out the impossible math. What gets cut when the only things left our necessities.’

Jill Biden learned about chemical reactions and early childhood learning during a visit to Birmingham on Friday to tout her husband's American Rescue Plan and claim it will cut childhood poverty rates in half

Jill Biden learned about chemical reactions and early childhood learning during a visit to Birmingham on Friday to tout her husband’s American Rescue Plan and claim it will cut childhood poverty rates in half

She then touted the expanded child tax cuts in the Biden administration’s COVID relief plan and the stimulus checks coming out. 

During her stop in the state, the first lady met with pre-K children at the James Rushton Early Learning Center to highlight the $1 billion in funds the American Rescue Plan gave Early Head Start programs like ones at the center.

The kids, all wearing face masks, giggled and squirmed ahead of her arrival, waving to reporters as they bounced in their seats.  They cheered when Dr. Biden, a teacher herself, walked into the classroom.

'The American Rescue Plan is going to cut child poverty in half,' she said, calling it a 'life raft' for struggling families.

‘The American Rescue Plan is going to cut child poverty in half,’ she said, calling it a ‘life raft’ for struggling families.

‘Hi,’ the first lady said, waving to them. A sign, hand-written in marker, read: ‘Welcome To The Owls Pre-K Dr. Biden!!’ 

Biden joined the kids in their learning for the day. 

She sat in a tiny chair with a table of children to help them put baking soda into muffin tins and then add droppers of various liquid into them to see the reaction. 

The kids had various predictions about what would occur –  explosions was a popular pick – but the liquids just bubbled or did nothing at all.

The first lady was originally scheduled to be accompanied by Jennifer Garner but the East Wing said due to ‘severe weather,’ the actress was unable to travel. Storm clouds rolled in as Dr. Biden wrapped up her short stay in the state. She spent about two hours on the ground. 

The trip was originally scheduled for March and had to be rescheduled after a tornado caused severe damage throughout the state, resulting in at least five deaths.

Biden was in Alabama part of the Help is Here tour to amplify how the American Rescue Plan addresses childhood poverty. 

Alabama has a 25 per cent childhood poverty rate, one of the highest childhood poverty rates in the nation. 

The first lady has been a major player in President Joe Biden’s quest to sell his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. Most of Biden’s focus has been on the education benefits and reopening schools, but this visit focuses on childhood poverty.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the childhood poverty rate in America increased three points to a high of 21.4 per cent, according to Columbia University’s Center on Poverty & Social Policy.

'I've heard the frustration, again, again, you know, what do I do,' she said. 'Parents are at the breaking point, you know, trying to keep their jobs and take care of their kids. Families are struggling.'

‘I’ve heard the frustration, again, again, you know, what do I do,’ she said. ‘Parents are at the breaking point, you know, trying to keep their jobs and take care of their kids. Families are struggling.’

In her remarks, Biden said was speaking as a mom to all the parents out there: 'So many of us find ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, you know, long after the kids are in bed, surrounded by bills, you know, trying to figure out the impossible math. What gets cut when the only things left our necessities.'

In her remarks, Biden said was speaking as a mom to all the parents out there: ‘So many of us find ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, you know, long after the kids are in bed, surrounded by bills, you know, trying to figure out the impossible math. What gets cut when the only things left our necessities.’

And the rate for black and Hispanic children is twice that of white children: 12.3 per cent for white children compared to 26.3 per cent for black children and 26.9 per cent for Hispanics.

There are an estimated 17 million children struggling with hunger in America – 6 million more than before the pandemic, according to Save the Children.

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan provides working and middle-class families an expanded child tax credit worth up to $3,600 for each child under the age of 6, and $3,000 for each child ages 6 through 17.

The plan contains enhanced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, unemployment benefits, family and child care tax credits, and direct cash payments in form of stimulus checks – $1,400 for each individual and dependent for families earning less than $150,000.

The White House claims the plan can cut childhood poverty in half.

An Urban Institute analysis found the child poverty rate in 2021 will fall by more than 52 per cent, largely from changes in tax law and the $1,400 stimulus checks.

But the tax provisions will only remain in affect for a year or two and the stimulus checks are a one-time boost – leaving unclear how long the benefits of the plan will last.

In recent weeks, top administration officials – including the president, the first lady, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff – have visited Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida to discuss the American Rescue Plan.

During her stop in the state, the first lady met with pre-K children at the James Rushton Early Learning Center to highlight the $1 billion in funds the American Rescue Plan gave Early Head Start programs like ones at the center.

During her stop in the state, the first lady met with pre-K children at the James Rushton Early Learning Center to highlight the $1 billion in funds the American Rescue Plan gave Early Head Start programs like ones at the center.

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