Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said the coronavirus relief bill signed into law in March “acted like a vaccine for the American economy” in some ways, pointing to safeguarding the financial system from new variants, The Hill reported. In remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., Yellen said that while protection from the relief package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, was not “complete,” it was “very strong.” “In some ways, the [American Rescue Plan] acted like a vaccine for the American economy, protecting our recovery from the possibility of new variants,” Yellen said. “The protection wasn’t complete, but it was very strong — and it prevented communities from suffering the most severe economic effects of Omicron and Delta,” she added. Biden signed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package into law less than two months into his presidency, at a time when coronavirus infections in the U.S. were on the decline following a winter surge. No Republicans in the House or Senate voted for the bill. The legislation includes funding to bolster vaccine distribution, school reopenings and enhanced unemployment benefits. It also included capital for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans and extended the child tax credit, among other provisions. Yellen’s comments come as the U.S. economy is experiencing a host of difficulties, including high inflation, supply chain snarls and disappointing jobs numbers.
