The federal rescue plan helped rural Virginia. Why not make parts of it permanent? – Virginia Mercury

By Anita Royston

In early 2021, rural communities like Pittsylvania County had been struggling.

A full 12 months of the pandemic had taken its toll on us — some faculties had been nonetheless closed, well being care prices had been nonetheless going up, many individuals couldn’t return to work, and much more had been struggling to make ends meet. The American Rescue Plan Act, which was handed in March 2021, offered a lifeline to households in communities like ours. Because of ARPA, rural communities throughout Virginia survived the worst of the pandemic.

Most significantly, ARPA put cash straight within the fingers of tens of millions of rural households by way of the expanded Youngster Tax Credit score and Earned Earnings Tax Credit score. Kids residing in rural counties are extra probably than kids in huge cities and suburban areas to have benefited from final 12 months’s growth of the kid tax credit score. Sadly, the expanded Youngster Tax Credit score expired in January and baby poverty has dramatically elevated. Congress can and will act right this moment to make that lifeline everlasting.

ARPA additionally made well being care extra reasonably priced for all households, whereas guaranteeing that rural hospitals and well being care suppliers may preserve their doorways open to serve their communities. Because of the American Rescue Plan Act, households had entry to expanded premium tax credit that assist make insurance coverage extra reasonably priced by way of the Reasonably priced Care Act. They expire on the finish of the 12 months. Once more, Congress can and will act to make these expanded credit everlasting.

The well being care advantages of ARPA don’t finish with households. Well being care suppliers in rural communities like Pittsylvania County had been particularly hit arduous by the COVID-19 pandemic too, however these hospitals and clinics have lengthy struggled to remain afloat. In reality, 47 % of rural suppliers had been working within the pink earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue isn’t new, nevertheless it was positively made worse by the well being disaster.

Rural suppliers play an vital position in our small cities and rural communities. To assist mitigate a few of these pandemic-related monetary losses, the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers started distributing $7.5 billion in ARPA funds to make sure rural hospitals and clinics may preserve their doorways open, deal with workforce challenges, and make up for the misplaced revenues and elevated bills brought on by the pandemic.

We also needs to have a good time the growth of broadband made attainable by way of this laws. Many states used their ARPA funding to deal with the longstanding digital divide. A number of states have additionally prioritized rising broadband connections for low-income households by way of line extensions, which increase connectivity to unserved streets and neighborhoods, in addition to different affordability measures. Virginia made this a high precedence even earlier than ARPA was signed into regulation, however the further funding makes the work sooner, which means extra individuals in additional communities throughout the state may have entry to high-speed web years sooner than anticipated.

ARPA additionally offered mortgage and rental help for rural households, saved small companies from closing, helped preserve faculties open, and funded vital infrastructure tasks in rural communities.

Pittsylvania County Neighborhood Motion, our native Neighborhood Motion Company, additionally acquired COVID-19 funds to assist residents throughout this time. PCCA acquired funds from a Neighborhood Improvement Block Grant to help households with utility and rental funds, and from the Older American Act to assist seniors meet their every day dietary wants, and from Well being and Human Providers to PCCA’s Head Begin program to make sure that kids continued to be able to switch into elementary faculties. Regardless of the shutdown of most companies, PCCA continued to fulfill the wants of the residents as employees may earn a living from home by way of up to date infrastructure.

Given all the methods the American Rescue Plan Act has made a optimistic distinction in our lives, we should always take a minute to ask our elected officers to make these applications everlasting. Youngsters shouldn’t be slipping again into poverty. Seniors mustn’t have to decide on between hire and medication. Households mustn’t have to fret about the price of childcare so that folks can return to work. Our elected officers, together with Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, could make this a actuality.

Anita Royston is the president of the Pittsylvania County NAACP and a frontrunner within the Danville Chapter of Virginia Organizing.