Brookdale To Get $22 Million Under Biden's American Rescue Plan

LINCROFT, NJ — New Jersey was given $10 billion under President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan and now this week, it was announced that Brookdale will receive $22 million under the plan.

Brookdale is Monmouth County's community college. The funding for colleges was just announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education.

As mandated by the federal government, half of that money must go directly to Brookdale students in need, in the form of emergency-cash assistance grants.

"Brookdale Community College is scheduled to receive $22 million in American Rescue Plan funds," confirmed Laura Oncea, a Brookdale spokeswoman. "$11 million must go directly to students in the form of emergency aid grants. Students who demonstrate financial hardship as a result of the pandemic are eligible to receive funds."

"The other half of the money will be spent on technology to enhance teaching, learning, and student services; expand access to mental health and wellness services; and offset revenue losses/additional expenses that are a direct result of the pandemic," she said.

Brookdale students may email COVIDQuestions@brookdalecc.edu or call One Stop at 732-224-2020.

Under the $1.9 trillion stimulus package — passed in March and the size of which was never before seen in U.S. government — Rutgers will receive $147 million. Middlesex County community college, now called Middlesex College, will receive $26 million.

At least half of the funding each college/university receives must be used in the form of emergency-cash assistance grants to students who are facing hunger, homelessness and other hardship due to the pandemic and economic fall-out, said Congressman Frank Pallone, a Democrat who represents Middlesex County and the area of Monmouth County where Brookdale is located.

A spokeswoman for Rutgers said that mirrors what they have been told.

"We have not received the official notice of the award of $147,821,278, but we have been notified that $74,182,727 ($74 million) of the allocation will be for emergency financial aid for students," said Rutgers spokeswoman Dory Devlin Tuesday.

How Rutgers will use the remaining $73 million remains to be determined.

"We are assessing the needs, including in the next fiscal year, for uses of the institutional portion of the award," said Devlin.

She said Rutgers was "grateful" to receive the federal cash.

Students should contact their college or university for more information about how they can apply for an emergency grant.

No Republicans voted for the American Rescue Plan

The American Rescue Plan, known as the second COVID stimulus, is the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed under President Biden in March of this year. It was a controversial and deeply partisan bill: Not one single Republican lawmaker in the U.S. House or Senate voted for the rescue package and that includes New Jersey's two Republican Congressmen, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ4) and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ2).

But the second COVID stimulus bill was backed by nearly all Democratic lawmakers.

This is the same rescue plan that gave at least $1,400 stimulus payments to most U.S. taxpayers (many Americans got more than $1,400) and extended the unemployment benefits to September, plus gave an additional $300 per unemployment check. Some Monmouth County restaurant owners say the generous unemployment packages are now making it very difficult for them to find people to work.

In December 2020, President Trump signed the first COVID stimulus bill, the $900 billion package that included $600 checks.

As Patch has reported, the American Rescue Plan gave counties and towns across the United States and New Jersey billions of dollars in unprecedented new federal funding, all meant to stem financial losses from the coronavirus pandemic. This college funding is part of that $10 billion.

In total, the American Rescue Plan provides $36 billion for nearly 3,500 nonprofit colleges and universities across the U.S.

Pallone voted for the American Rescue Plan and said he supports the massive federal cash infusion for colleges and universities. He said colleges and universities faced severe financial fall-out due to the pandemic and shutdowns.

"I'm proud that we were able to deliver this critical support for institutions of higher education, and I applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for its relentless focus on defeating the pandemic and building back a better economy," said Pallone.

These locals colleges and universities will all receive funding under the American Rescue Plan:

• Brookdale Community College (Monmouth County's community college): $22,237,299
• Middlesex County College: $26,410,559
• Monmouth University: $13,024,725
• New Brunswick Theological Seminary: $65,523
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark campuses): $147,821,278

To read more about emergency education funding under the American Rescue Plan, click here.

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