On Thursday afternoon, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9-trillion stimulus package aimed at helping workers and companies that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It contains a number of provisions that are expected to help actors and the arts community, including a 100% COBRA subsidy for six months through Sept. 30, $1,400 stimulus checks, and extending unemployment benefits to Sept. 6. The plan also provides $135 million to the National Endowment for the Arts to supply grants to artistic institutions.
Said Biden before signing the bill: “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving the people of this nation, working people, the middle-class folks, people who built the country a fighting chance.”
The Plan has been met with support by both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association.
“This pandemic has been especially brutal on arts workers; most of us have been unemployed for a year now, and are desperate to get back to work the moment it’s safe. In the meantime, the need for relief is real and urgent,” said Equity President Kate Shindle in a statement. “This passage shows us that it's possible to provide meaningful assistance to American workers during a crisis and that we have to continue raising our voices. We are so grateful to the members of Congress who saw this through—including Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer—and of course to President Biden, who has championed this crucial legislation.”
Healthcare
Equity has been a champion of a COBRA subsidy, where the government would pay for the healthcare premiums of people who had been laid off but who still wanted to be covered under their old health plan. The American Rescue Plan would provide a 100% COBRA subsidy, a necessity since many actors have been dropped from union health insurance because they have not been able to find enough work to meet the unions’ requirements. Both SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and the Equity-League Health Fund changed the eligibility requirements for coverage last year, making it harder for actors to qualify for coverage.
The American Rescue Plan also includes additional health insurance subsidies for people who purchase insurance through Healthcare.gov or a state exchange website. For anyone earning around $19,000, the subsidies will make health insurance virtually free. People above the poverty level won’t pay more than 8.5% of their income in monthly premiums. Anyone who is uninsured now will qualify for the new prices, and anyone who signed up during the 2020 enrollment period will get a retroactive reimbursement and will be able to change their health plans.
COVID-19 Resources for Actors, Performers, and Creators
Unemployment
Here’s what the American Rescue Plan offers for unemployment: It will extend the unemployment benefits of $300 per week through Sept. 6. It also extends Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation to Sept. 6.
And those who filed for unemployment benefits in 2020 won’t have to pay federal income tax on it. Up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits ($20,400 for couples) will not be subject to federal income tax. State income taxes on unemployment may still apply.
Stimulus Funds
The plan also includes $1,400 stimulus checks to single individuals making under $75,000 and couples making under $150,000. The payments are cut off at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for couples. The checks are expected to go out by the end of March. The IRS will use the 2020 tax returns of those who filed, and the 2019 tax returns for those who haven’t.
There’s also money specially reserved for the arts. The bill earmarks $135 million each to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The money will go towards direct grants for arts organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19. It is a sizable increase from the $75 million each that was approved in last March’s stimulus package. The bill also provides $1,250,000,000 in grants to live performance venues and movie theaters that can demonstrate a 25% reduction in revenues.
Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers said in a statement: “I am grateful to members of Congress and the president for recognizing the economic and societal contributions of the arts, especially given the recent devastation to the sector. With the agency’s expertise in grantmaking, including with the CARES Act, the Arts Endowment will deliver assistance to allow arts organizations to reopen, to retain as many jobs as possible, and to help sustain the creative life of our communities.”
Equity, SAG-AFTRA, and a host of other entertainment unions have released a joint statement supporting the bill: “We are hopeful that enactment of the American Rescue Plan is one more step toward a future where music and entertainment are again at the center of our lives and communities, and where creative community workers can put the hardship of the pandemic behind them. Until then, we will continue to work as one community to advocate for greater, enhanced relief and ensure policymakers at all levels understand American creators’ outsized contribution to our economy and our culture.”
Other provisions in the bill include making student loan forgiveness tax-free through 2025, providing housing and rental assistance, and funding to help schools reopen and support state vaccination efforts.
Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan marks a year since the coronavirus shut down the entertainment industry. The White House also plans to launch a public information campaign on the benefits of the bill.