WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: More Praise for President-elect Joe Biden's Historic Rescue Package to Speed Up Vaccine Efforts and Deliver Economic Relief

Support continued to mount today for President-elect Biden's historic American Rescue Plan, with leaders from Capitol Hill to communities around the country joining with public health officials, business leaders, and labor in praising the historic package Biden has put forward to dramatically increase vaccine distribution, confront the virus, and provide financial relief to families hardest hit.

Like President-elect Biden, these leaders know that — with our economy in crisis and the virus surging — America cannot afford to wait to ramp up vaccinations, fund public health efforts, and provide a badly needed lifeline to struggling families and communities.

That's why the president-elect continues to make the case directly to the American people, including with the rollout today of his plan to administer 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days, and urge immediate, bipartisan action to get it done.

Here's what they're saying:

Chip Kahn, President and CEO, Federation of American Hospitals: "It will take presidential leadership to defeat COVID-19, and President-elect Biden is demonstrating that leadership with his vaccination plan." [Statement, 1/15/21]

Michael Fraser, CEO, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials: "State and territorial health officials applaud President-Elect Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan as a strong framework to achieve our overarching goal, which is to save American lives. We are pleased the proposal recognizes the critical need for additional resources for vaccine distribution, scaling up testing, expanding the public health workforce, and most importantly, addressing health disparities." [Statement, 1/15/21]

Senator Elizabeth Warren: "I carefully read President-elect Biden's America Rescue Plan. It's full of many things I've been fighting for: Hazard pay. Rent and utility assistance. An eviction moratorium. Extended and expanded unemployment. Paid leave. A $15 minimum wage. An OSHA ETS. And lots, lots more." [Tweet, 1/15/21]

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: "Congress and the new Biden-Harris Administration will be ready to deliver much-needed relief to the American people on day one. This initial relief package will be only the first step, as we lay the groundwork for our economy to build back better, stronger, and more resilient than it was before, addressing disparities that led to minority communities being hit harder by this pandemic and its economic challenges." [Statement, 1/14/21]

Matthew Chase, Executive Director, National Association of Counties: "Even as most counties continue to suffer from ill-timed revenue losses, we remain committed to the American tradition of building back better after a major crisis. The federal resources proposed by President-elect Biden would enable county leaders to make strategic investments in the immediate task of vaccinating our residents and mitigating the spread of this deadly, destructive virus." [Statement, 1/14/21]

Bloomberg editorial: "In his speech on Thursday night, President-elect Joe Biden said his new economic-stimulus proposal is only the first installment of a two-stage plan to speed America's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Part two will come next month in his State of the Union address. Biden's strategy will need to be judged as a whole, but this first set of initiatives is mostly on target. Congress should take it up urgently." [Article, 1/15/21]

Reuters: "U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's proposal to pour $1.9 trillion into a hobbled economy could lay the foundation for a surge in jobs and spending that many economists say is needed to avoid long-term damage from a record-breaking pandemic recession." [Article, 1/15/21]

Bloomberg: "Economists saw much to like in how President-elect Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan will attack the pandemic and support the recovery." [Article, 1/15/21]

Matthew Shay, President and CEO, National Retail Federation: "The stimulus plan released today by President-elect Biden is expansive in scope, but it serves as an encouraging signal that the new administration intends swift action to support businesses and consumers." [Statement, 1/14/21]

Rep. Rosa DeLauro: "The Biden Administration's American Rescue Plan is one of the boldest economic relief packages the country has ever seen. It measures up to the current economic and health crisis. It meets the moment by crushing the virus, delivering financial relief to working families, and supporting our communities …. As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I look forward to quickly turning this framework into law." [Statement, 1/14/21]

Rep. Kathy Castor: "In order to contain the coronavirus, we'll need to finally establish a concerted, coordinated whole-of-government effort to get vaccinations into the arms of Americans. That starts with leadership at the White House, and I am grateful that President-elect Biden and his team will have the best of our nation's public health experts at the helm from day one." [Statement, 1/15/21]

Rep. Joyce Beatty: ""I strongly support the American Rescue Plan because the historic rescue package delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration's promise to deliver swift, comprehensive relief to workers, families, small businesses, and communities of color still reeling from the COVID-19 Pandemic." [Statement, 1/15/21]

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer: "President-elect Biden understands that in order to build our economy back better, we must join forces to end the COVID-19 pandemic. His American Rescue Plan will help us do both … Once again, President-elect Biden has proven that he will work around the clock to end the COVID-19 pandemic and build our economy back better." [Statement, 1/14/21]

Julián Castro, Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: "COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our economy, especially for the most vulnerable families.@JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris's American Rescue Plan would get real relief to those who need it, help us contain the virus, and make big strides toward reducing poverty and raising wages." [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Glenn Hubbard, Former Bush CEA Chair: "One lesson from the financial crisis is that you want to be careful about doing too little." [Article, 1/14/21]

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus: "#AAPIs have been devastated by the disproportionate health & economic impacts of #COVID19 and the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes it has incited. Thank you to President-elect @JoeBiden for putting forth a bold recovery plan to defeat the virus and put our nation back on track." [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Congressional Hispanic Caucus: ".@HispanicCaucus is ready to #BuildBackBetter with the Biden Administration on #COVID19 relief to:
Save lives
Keep people healthy
Rebuild the economy
Full letter with priorities " [Tweet, 1/13/21]

National Domestic Workers Alliance: "President-elect Biden's emergency relief plan is an important step in the right direction and shows what it looks like to value mutual care of our families and communities." [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Lee Saunders, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: "President-elect Biden's recovery plan has exactly the right priorities: ending the pandemic and jumpstarting the economy. From raising the minimum wage to increased unemployment benefits to vaccine mobilization, this rescue package will help get America back on track...The President-elect knows that these everyday heroes deliver the essential public services that will help us distribute the vaccine, treat the sick and keep businesses open. He believes deeply that, for their courage and sacrifice, they deserve better than to get pink slips. We applaud President-elect Biden for this important step and look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to build back better." [Statement, 1/14/21]

Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO, Voto Latino: "43m Latino and Black families share they don't have enough food to eat. Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief can't come sooner. #BuildBackBetter" [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Voto Latino: "Biden's American Rescue Plan includes:
- $1,400 direct stimulus checks
- $160B for a national vaccine program
- $130B for schools to safely reopen
Finally, competent leadership. This is a great start." [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Sindy Benavides, National CEO, The League of United Latin American Citizens: "The vision set out by President-elect Biden today is bold, necessary and LULAC is heartened to hear its details. Also, that help for our schools is being included to deal with the tremendous challenges our children have been facing during these past many months. Especially encouraging is the sense of urgency President-elect Biden is clearly conveying when he says we must act and we must act now." [Statment, 1/15/21]

Janet Murguía, President and CEO, UnidosUS: "Inspired by the meeting today between Latino leaders, @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. This feels like a new day, a huge change. There's a clear commitment to follow up on his promises to the nation and the #Latino community." [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Latino Victory: "In the words of President-elect @JoeBiden, "help is on the way." [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Latino Community Foundation: "We look forward to engaging the incoming President of the United States to advocate for the Latino community across California. Our Latino families need bold and immediate help as quickly as possible. @JoeBiden" [Tweet, 1/14/21]

Sarah Audelo, Executive Director, Alliance for Youth Action: "One of my fav things abt @JoeBiden's COVID Rescue Package is inclusion of adult dependents & mixed status households (pg 9 of the fact sheet). A big win for the #youthvote & Gen Z. Adult dependents are also supporting themselves/their families & struggling through this pandemic." [Tweet, 1/15/21]

Ben Wessel, Executive Director, NextGen America: ".@JoeBiden promised the #youthvote he'd push for a $15/hr minimum wage and it's the FIRST thing he wants to do, while getting our communities vaccinated and putting cash in our pockets. Good on ya, Joey." [Tweet, 1/15/21]

David M. Dworkin, CEO, National Housing Conference: "I would like to commend President-elect Joseph Biden for moving quickly to put forth a comprehensive plan to introduce additional emergency rental assistance." [Statement, 1/15/21]

Bonnie Castillo, Executive Director, National Nurses United: "We urge Congress to take this plan up immediately after the inauguration, and we look forward to working with the incoming administration on implementing this plan with the urgency that is required to confront this pandemic." [Statement, 1/14/21]

David Begnaud, CBS News: "NOW: President elect Biden says on day 1 he'll order FEMA to set up COVID19 vaccination centers around the country to vaccinate millions.He wants to 100 million shots in his first 100 days. That's an ambitious goal. Trump had no national strategy. Biden is starting with one." [Tweet, 1/15/21]

Jordan Weissman, Slate: "This is a piece of legislation that meets the demands of the moment." [Article, 1/14/21]