**Dr. Jill Biden was presented with the first Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin at the event**
**President Biden signed the Kuster-backed American Rescue Plan Act into law last week**

Concord, N.H. — Today, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) welcomed First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to New Hampshire at the Christa McAuliffe School in Concord. Rep. Kuster and Dr. Biden discussed the American Rescue Plan and the crucial support it provides to students, educators, and schools in New Hampshire and across the country. Signed into law last week, the American Rescue Plan Act provides over $120 billion in funding to safely reopen schools. 

Rep. Kuster attended primary school at the site of the visit — the Christa McAuliffe School — which was formerly the Kimball School. The school’s namesake, Christa McAuliffe, was a Concord educator who died aboard the Space Shuttle the Challenger in 1986. Before Dr. Biden gave her remarks, the McAuliffe family presented the First Lady with the first Commemorative Coin honoring Christa McAuliffe, saying, “There would be no better person, no better teacher, no better role model for teachers, and no better role model for women and young women than Dr. Jill Biden to receive the first coin minted in Christa’s honor.” Last year, Rep. Kuster secured the co-sponsors in the House of Representatives necessary to pass the Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act into law to create a commemorative coin to honor Christa McAuliffe.

In her remarks, Dr. Jill Biden reflected on the life, legacy, and impact of Christa McAuliffe, thanked educators for ‘touching the future,’ and spoke about the ways the American Rescue Plan will strengthen our communities and families in New Hampshire and across the country.

“Since the Biden-Harris administration took office, we have been able to significantly increase our vaccination efforts in New Hampshire and across the country,” said Rep. Kuster. “Now more than ever, there is a light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic. As we continue our work to recover and rebuild, funding from the American Rescue Plan Act will provide important financial and professional support for our schools, teachers, and staff to get students back into classrooms safely and make up for lost learning.”

“It was an honor to welcome our First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to New Hampshire today at the Christa McAuliffe School in Concord to discuss the life and legacy of the school’s namesake, NH educator Christa McAuliffe, and support for our Granite State schools that was included in the American Rescue Plan Act President Biden signed into law last week,” Rep. Kuster continued. “The proactive and transformational plan meets the demands of this crisis and prioritizes our students in national recovery efforts. I am proud to have helped get this legislation over the finish line, and I look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration and Dr. Jill Biden to build back better so no one is left behind and every Granite Stater has the opportunity to get ahead.”

The American Rescue Plan Act prioritized students and included $122.8 billion in grants to support K-12 schools to:

• Help homeless children: The legislation provides funding for the Department of Education to identify homeless children and provide them with wrap-around services and other assistance to facilitate school attendance.
• Facilitate Schools Safely Reopening: Funding from the American Rescue Plan can be used to help create safe environments for schools to reopen and make up for learning lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Improve Connectivity: The legislation included $7.17 billion for an “Emergency Connectivity Fund” to cover the purchase of broadband services and devices by schools and libraries for use by students, staff, and patrons at other locations.

Kuster has been a leading advocate in Congress for increased relief for New Hampshire schools and families as the nation works to end this pandemic. Kuster helped to get the American Rescue Plan Act over the finish line in the House of Representatives, championed provisions for state and local funding to re-open schools safely to get students back into classrooms, and successfully got funding for her legislation — the Coronavirus Vaccine and Therapeutic Development Act — included to ensure that the United States will be able to mass-produce and administer COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics quickly and efficiently.

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