Government Associations Seeks COVID-19 Relief from Congress

As Congress continues to work to try to reach a bipartisan COVID-19 emergency relief package, organizations representing local officials are teaming up (yet again) to stress the importance of efforts that can help offset revenue losses and unbudgeted emergency expenditures they have faced during the pandemic.

The National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors sent a joint letter to Congress this week that not only stressed the need for budget relief, but also requested three “technical changes” in the final COVID emergency aid package.

First, the associations sought a provision in H.R. 8266, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance Relief Act of 2020, that would adjust the FEMA cost share for all COVID-19-related disaster declarations to 100%. They also requested that Congress include a provision in the bill that would adjust the FEMA cost share for all emergencies and major disasters declared in 2020 to not less than 90% federal and 10% nonfederal. They further sought a provision stating that FEMA, under COVID-19 declarations, should consider reimbursing certain expenses including personal protective equipment for public schools, public transit, public utilities, courthouses and other government buildings and services.

Second, the associations called for more flexibility to use already appropriated Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars than is provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (Pub. L. 116-136) by amending CARES Act language to make “replacement of lost revenue” an eligible expenditure. Lastly, the associations emphasized that states and localities are facing an imminent deadline to spend down all CRF funds or return the balance to the federal government. Therefore, they recommended that the spending deadline for these funds be extended to Dec. 31, 2021, “to allow local governments to continue to wisely invest in their communities by supporting small business and protecting vulnerable resources.”

State and local governments have especially struggled during this crisis, and any relief that Congress can provide will be critical. We’ll have to wait to see what the Congress can ultimately offer.