Biden administration kicks off ‘Help is Here’ tour to promote COVID recovery plan

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden kicked off the “Help is Here” campaign on Monday to educate the public on the $1.9 trillion plan that is meant to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

First Lady Jill Biden visited a school in Burlington, New Jersey, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited UPS distribution center in Landover, Maryland

First lady Jill Biden tours Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, N,J., on Monday, March 15, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Vice President Kamala Harris started the tour in Nevada and in New Jersey. She is traveling with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, but he will attend a separate “Help is Here” event in Las Vegas.

Biden will visit Pennsylvania on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, the first lady will visit New Hampshire and Emhoff will visit New Mexico. Harris will join Biden in Georgia on Friday.

Vice President Kamala Harris and the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, are greeted by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and his wife Kathy, as they arrive in Las Vegas, Monday, March 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The plan includes $1,400 direct payments for taxpayers or a $5,600 direct payment for a low-income married couple with two dependents.

The plan also extended federal unemployment benefits. There are also grants for housing and for restaurants and bars. The bill includes $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments and $130 billion for K-12 public schools nationwide.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg greets UPS driver Ricardo Adams during a tour of a UPS Facility in Landover, Md., Monday, March 15, 2021. Buttigieg was on hand to highlight COVID-19 vaccine distribution distribution efforts.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

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About the Authors:

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning Washington Bureau Chief for Local 10 News.

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.