The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote on a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as early as this Friday. Most critically for CGMC, the plan contains $350 billion for state and local governments. It would distribute $195.3 billion to the states and the District of Columbia, as well as $130.2 billion to local governments. The remaining $24.5 billion would be distributed to U.S. territories and Tribal governments.
Under the proposal, the State of Minnesota would receive almost $2.6 billion, while Minnesota local governments would be slated to share just over $2 billion. Compared to the CARES Act that sent money to states and local governments last spring, this round of funding seems to be more flexible in the ways in which it can be used — including to replace lost revenue, which was prohibited under the previous act. Additionally, the proposed package provides more direction as to how the local government money is to be distributed. More information on the proposal, including how much each city would receive, can be found here.
As the current bill advances, it is not clear that there is much, if any, support from congressional Republicans, meaning that the margin to pass a relief package is extremely narrow in both the House and the Senate.
Assuming the House passes the bill, it will likely be taken up in the Senate next week. As this Washington Post article indicates, the package will probably undergo changes in the Senate with aid to state and local governments being one of the contentious items. Despite support from the Biden administration, some Senate Democrats are questioning the aid state and local governments.
Earlier this week, CGMC President Greg Zylka sent this letter to every member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation requesting their support for proposal. CGMC will continue to monitor and report on the progress of aid for state and local governments in the coronavirus relief package.
