With the House of Representatives narrowly passing the American Rescue Plan this weekend, we see the first steps towards the U.S’s largest COVID bail-out to date. If it passes the Senate as well, this bill will hit President Biden’s desk, making it his first major legislative achievement to date. For the entertainment industry, it’s one that’s been a long time in coming, and, in some aspects, desperately needed. BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Attorney take a closer look at this historical milestone.
At 1.9 trillion, there’s little wonder that the bill didn’t draw any Republican votes. More surprising, there were 2 democratic representatives to also vote against the bill. However, it’s been immensely popular with the public at large, especially those suffering under the current COVID-19 restrictions.
This includes, of course, a disproportionate amount of the entertainment business. This is primarily due to the fact that many in the industry report as freelancers, contractor, or ‘gig worker’, sectors for whom accessing state-run programs have historically been hard. Despite copious attempts to keep people working (and some efforts to get sets reopened from Q3 last year), a huge segment of the entertainment industry has had to rely on Washington to support them through the current hardships. Most of the Entertainment industry works as contractors or freelance artists, and since regular benefits like unemployment have not been reshaped to include them, this is hardly surprising.
A vast segment of the bill focuses on testing schemes and vaccine distribution, as well it should. Luckily, there’s also provision made for the businesses and workers suffering under current conditions, which we will look at in more detail later. Overall, it moves in a very positive direction for the entertainment industry. Combined with further moves from President Biden to make accessing relief easier for workers, there’s definitely a more positive horizon opening up for smaller players in the entertainment industry. As always, BLAKE & WANG P.A one of the top entertainment law firms Los Angeles will keep you informed.
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