President Joe Biden‘s American Rescue Plan will reach the U.S. Senate this week and the White House anticipates final passage by Mid-March. The bill contains ccoronavirus relief and aid for state and local governments, new homeowners’ assistance funds, small-business grants, rental-assistance funding and expanded unemployment.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) strongly supports the bill. In a blog post on the Florida Realtors website, NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn said she expects the bill to pass with most of its major provisions.

“Perhaps the biggest component of this bill is state and local aid, which was left out of previous legislation,” she said in the blog post. “Nearly nine in 10 cities expect a budget shortfall this year. No local government could really prepare for something like what we have lived through the past year, and this new assistance was needed to keep our economic recovery from suffering a relapse.”

NAR notes that the provisions of the proposed bill include:

• $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans.
• unemployment extension through August 29, 2021.
• $20.3 billion in new money for rental assistance.
• an extension of the eviction and foreclosure moratorium through Sept. 30,2021.
• forbearance for federally guaranteed mortgages.
• $10 billion in housing assistance.
• $100 million in housing counseling services.
• $15 billion in new small business grants.