San Bernardino County Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. highlights progress made in part to the American Rescue Plan

On June 23, San Bernardino County Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. held a special roundtable to discuss the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

During the roundtable discussion, the county provided insight into how the $423 million funds have assisted the county in its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, welcoming dialogue from Congressman Pete Aguilar, and accepting questions from community panelists.

“Our special virtual roundtable on the four-year American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make critical investments in our county. The last 16 months have been extremely difficult for all of us; we’ve been living through unwarranted times due to the COVID-19 Pandemic,” said Baca, Jr.

Some of those investments include homeless services and housing, testing, vaccines, and department response, economic development strategy, infrastructure improvements, and county system improvements.

Baca, Jr. continued, “I’ve been serving as your supervisor for the past 6 months and the entirety of my time serving has been through the pandemic. Responding to COVID-19 and creating pathways has been my top priority for my office since my first day as supervisor.”

Back in December, when Baca, Jr. was sworn in, the County’s priority was to ensure that the infrastructure was in place to provide equitable distribution of vaccines to all residents and they successfully delivered upon their promise.

During the roundtable discussion, Aguilar chimed in to strengthen camaraderie and share how forthcoming initiatives will elevate the local economy.

“The American Rescue Plan established the Child Tax Credit. Advance Payments will begin on  July 15 and last through the end of 2021 and most families in our community, 90 percent, will be eligible to receive up to 300 per child each month,” shared Aguilar.

Aguilar also noted that in May 2021, San Bernardino County saw the lowest unemployment numbers since before the pandemic.

“This bill was important to our community because it provided direct funding to our county and local governments…San Bernardino County received $423 million; San Bernardino received $77 million; Fontana received $50 million; Rialto received $29 million; and Colton received $14 million,” continued Aguilar.

Two forthcoming initiatives Aguilar is currently working on include the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, which will help elevate the economy in San Bernardino County.

“We need to make sure our communities get these much-needed resources and do not get left behind during this period of recovery. If you or your family members have social service needs, please give us a call at (909) 890-4445 to get in touch with me and my team. We need to work together to ensure that the Inland Empire thrives and I look forward to our continued conversation and friendship along the way,” concluded Aguilar.

For more information, visit https://www.sbcounty.gov/bosd5/.