The American Rescue Plan, a $ 1.9 trillion federal stimulus package, will provide benefits to our country and to us locally in Monmouth County. It is a big, bold, multicomponent set of bills that shows thinking outside the box whereby parts work in an integrative way to provide the needed economic boost to our citizens.
The American Rescue Plan provides the help our country yearns for. A public health component, for example, provides billions of dollars for schools to upgrade ventilation systems to protect against the coronavirus.
New Jersey alone will get $2.8 billion for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades.
While many sheet metal workers, like other blue collar workers, have been sidelined by the pandemic, the school HVAC upgrade program, like other parts of the American Rescue Plan, will greatly increase the demand for sheet metal and other types of blue collar workers.
These are well-paying union jobs. This increased demand should spark the demand for paid on-the-job apprenticeship programs in this and other fields as well.
This is but one example of the many integrated ways the American Rescue Plan will stimulate the economy.
What I do not get is why zero Republicans voted for this bill. I also wonder why (Congressman) Chris Smith did not vote for this package, given that the sheet metal workers union provided strong support for him.
It is time for a change in New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District.
Margaret S Beekman
Freehold Township
