Here's What You Need to Remember: If the nearly $2 trillion legislation ever gets green-lighted by Congress, know that it would substantially lower child care and health care costs, subsidize college tuition, provide paid sick and family leave, and reduce health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.

As the disbursement of third round of coronavirus stimulus checks under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan eventually winds down, millions of Americans might be worried that they won’t be able to pay off their monthly bills.

And the president appeared to fail these struggling Americans when he didn’t directly press for more stimulus checks during his joint address to Congress last week. However, if one analyzes his speech closely, know that many Americans can take solace in the fact that Biden did take time to outline a number of ambitious plans under the American Families Plan that could potentially provide more financial relief to both individuals and families over the long term.

If the nearly $2 trillion legislation ever gets green-lighted by Congress, know that it would substantially lower child care and health care costs, subsidize college tuition, provide paid sick and family leave, and reduce health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.

In one example, an average American family might be able to save $14,800 a year on child care costs, according to the White House, as the president’s plan proposes to cap such expenditures at 7 percent of an individual’s income. In addition, by giving more assistance paying health insurance premiums, it could save the average family about $50 every month.

For those who are concerned that it could take months before the new legislation is passed, keep in mind that the American Rescue Plan still has several big bullets left.

In what could be considered as essentially a “fourth” stimulus check, be aware that beginning in July, millions of eligible cash-strapped parents will get their hands on a $250 or $300 payment each month under the expanded child tax credit. And under the American Families Plan, this benefit will stretch on through the year 2025.

Moreover, there are still tens of thousands of “plus-up” or supplemental checks that have yet to reach eligible Americans. According to the IRS, these payments are “for people who earlier in March received payments based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new or larger payment based on their recently processed 2020 tax returns. … These ‘plus-up’ payments could include a situation where a person’s income dropped in 2020 compared to 2019, or a person had a new child or dependent on their 2020 tax return, and other situations.”

The agency is expected to send out about $1.2 billion worth of “plus-up” payments to Americans in the coming weeks. 

Finally, don’t forget about the tax refunds for 2020 unemployment benefits, which are slated to start landing in eligible U.S. bank accounts this month. These sizeable payments are part of Biden’s legislation that was able to waive federal tax on up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits—or $20,400 for married couples filing jointly—that were collected last year.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

This article was oiriginally published in early May and is being reposted due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters