Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she believes the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package will help turn around the New York economy after being decimated by COVID-19.

Over the weekend, the Senate approved the American Rescue Plan Act. It will go before the House of Representatives today, where it is expected to pass and then be sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

“It was critical that this bill meet the emergency of the moment,” she said during a virtual press conference Tuesday.

“I pushed for the Rescue Plan to help struggling families keep food on the table and pay their bills. That starts with direct relief of up to $1,400 plus an additional $1,400 for each dependent.”

She noted that the bill expands the child tax credit, increases SNAP, WIC and HEAP benefits, Meals on Wheels and other programs. “Those programs are basically lifelines for struggling families,” she said.

Other highlights of the Rescue Plan, she mentioned, includes $40 billion for childcare providers, $7 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, $1.25 billion to venue operators, and $28.6 billion in grants for restaurants.

“Restaurants play a huge role in our state’s economy and I pushed for this bill to include the Restaurant Act to create that revitalization fund,” she said.

She noted that $300 billion is going to state and local governments. “This is much needed relief for the governments that have been working to provide more services on less revenue for nearly a year now,” she said.

Mayor Eddie Sunquist said these funds will help Jamestown tremendously. “We need to rebuild and adapt to this changing world. Having those funds made available will help the city develop and provide a cushion,” he said during a phone interview Tuesday.

Usually when the federal government funds local municipalities, the money is filtered through the state. This time, the revenue is being sent directly to local cities, towns and counties.

“This is the first time in probably a decade or more where we we received direct aid from the federal government,” Sundquist said.

Gillibrand said that was important to the Senate. “What I heard from our local county execs as well as our governor and our mayors is that their budgets had been decimated. So they would normally be paying for homeless programs or substance use disorder programs, or domestic violence programs. They also pay for our frontline workers line EMTs, police force, firefighters, as well as our state budget pays for education. So without a normal budget they can’t meet the basic needs of the state and so I’m hoping that these resources specifically help to continue our frontline workers, help the safety net programs that are the last things to fund and begin to restore some balance to the economy,” she said.

In Jamestown, Sundquist said his team is working on a plan to spend the $29.87 million allotted to the city. Once a plan is set, he said it will be publicly vetted and brought before the city council for final approval.

Jamestown ended up being the top municipality in the county for federal aid. Sundquist said before he was officially notified, he wasn’t sure how much they were going to get. “It definitely exceeded expectations. Thought if there was going to be federal aid, we thought it may be a small number, maybe a million dollars,” he said.

Gillibrand said municipalities may start to receive their funds in the next two weeks. Sundquist was told Jamestown should have the money in the next 60 days.