States Have Spent Less Than A Quarter Of Their CARES Act Funds

According To The Treasury Inspector General, States Have Spent Less Than A Quarter Of The Funds They Received Under The CARES Act

“Just under 25 percent of the funds Congress allocated to state and local governments for coronavirus relief has been spent so far, a figure that may raise fresh concerns from lawmakers on whether billions of more dollars are needed. Just over $34 billion -- or nearly a quarter -- of the $139 billion in payments Congress passed in March to states and local governments in the CARES Act has been spent, according to a new report from the Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General.” (“States, Seeking More Coronavirus Relief Funds, Have Hardly Spent The $139 Billion Approved In March: Report,” Fox News, 7/29/2020)

• “Congress agreed in March to disburse $150 billion in state and local aid, but of the $139 billion that has been paid out to this point, roughly $34 billion has been utilized for costs incurred, according to the Treasury report.” (“Treasury Report: Less Than 25% Of State And Local Emergency Funds Used As Congressional Debate Heats Up,” CNN, 7/29/2020)

“Some states have used less than 5 percent of the funds earmarked for them, including states like New Jersey and Connecticut, which bore the brunt of early coronavirus cases…. 23 states have used less than 10 percent of their funding, while 11 have used less than half.” (“States Have Spent Little of $150 Billion COVID Relief Fund,” Washington Free Beacon, 7/29/2020)

• “Among the smallest spenders so far are … Connecticut (4.6 percent), Kansas (1.5 percent), Minnesota (1.3 percent) … New Jersey (4.7 percent) [and] Washington (4.3 percent) … the report found.” (“States, Seeking More Coronavirus Relief Funds, Have Hardly Spent The $139 Billion Approved In March: Report,” Fox News, 7/29/2020)

Yet Democrats In Congress Want Almost $1 Trillion MORE For States

“Democrats want $915 billion for states and localities to help backfill major revenue shortfalls, prevent layoffs of public workers and forestall cuts to public services.” (“States, Seeking More Coronavirus Relief Funds, Have Hardly Spent The $139 Billion Approved In March: Report,” Fox News, 7/29/2020)

• “But Republicans are more wary, fearing that federal bailout dollars will be used to shore up flagging state pensions already almost bankrupted by years of malinvestment. The GOP's solution to this problem, unveiled Monday evening, is to remove the requirement that the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used for public health issues—thereby freeing up an apparently undersubscribed source of funding without committing to more spending on top of what already appeared in the CARES Act.” (“States Have Spent Little of $150 Billion COVID Relief Fund,” Washington Free Beacon, 7/29/2020)

Meanwhile, Across The Country, Democrat Governors Are Under Fire For Not Getting What Little They’ve Spent Of CARES Act Funding To Local Governments

“Another issue raised by many local governments is the problem they’ve had with their own states for not quickly disbursing funding to city and county governments…. Some states have used little to none of their money, according to the report.” (“Treasury Report: Less Than 25% Of State And Local Emergency Funds Used As Congressional Debate Heats Up,” CNN, 7/29/2020)

Montana: Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock

“Gov. Steve Bullock this week said his administration has ‘allocated’ two-thirds of the Montana’s $1.25 billion in federal money for Covid-19 impacts – but, so far only $160 million has actually been distributed.” (“Bullock Allocates $800M Of Federal Covid Money; Only $160M Distributed,” MTN News, 7/23/2020)

• “The governor said [July 22nd] the state has allocated $822 million of the $1.25 billion for a variety of uses, including nearly $300 million for local governments' Covid-19-related expenses. Still, only $32 million has been distributed to local governments so far.” (“Bullock Allocates $800M Of Federal Covid Money; Only $160M Distributed,” MTN News, 7/23/2020)

“More than a month after submitting information as required, Missoula County this week said it has not received any CARES Act funding from the state, and it’s now looking to local members of the Legislature for answers. Missoula County commissioners have raised the issue several times in recent weeks …” (“Missoula County Still Waiting For CARES Act Funding; Accuses State Of Restricting Funds,” Missoula Current, 7/23/2020)

• “Andrew Czorney, the county’s chief financial officer, said the county submitted its first request to Helena using a spreadsheet provided by the state for reimbursement purposes in mid June. More than a month later, he said, the county has not received any CARES Act funding and most of its requests have been denied. ‘There are restrictions placed on the eligibility of county reimbursements beyond what is called for in the Department of the Treasury’s guidance,’ he told county commissioners, who remain perplexed by the lack of state funding.” (“Missoula County Still Waiting For CARES Act Funding; Accuses State Of Restricting Funds,” Missoula Current, 7/23/2020)

• “Czorney said that Treasury made a number of costs related to COVID-19 reimbursable under the CARES Act, though the state has placed added restrictions on the payments and has not distributed the funding. Among them, he said, the county has twice submitted a request for reimbursement to the state for public safety payroll expenses related to 911 personnel. A reimbursement request for costs related to detention center deputies also has been denied. Czorney said the state also has denied hazard pay for employees who spend most of their time responding to public health issues related to COVID-19. The county’s request for reimbursement for meals provided to the Health Department’s nurses while staffing test centers and working overtime to conduct contact tracing was also denied.” (“Missoula County Still Waiting For CARES Act Funding; Accuses State Of Restricting Funds,” Missoula Current, 7/23/2020)

• “As required by the state, Missoula County said it submitted ‘an exceptionally large’ PDF detailing to the penny all requested reimbursements. Czorney said the state then asked for written narratives for every expenditure, such as meals to COVID-19 workers at the health department. ‘Now they would like us to take reports from our accounting system, generate them and extract the expenditures from each category within our line items,’ he said. ‘We’re doing a complete reversal so they can see that the expenditures were actually made. Do they think I’m falsifying expenditures just to get CARES ACT money? It’s absolutely insane.’” (“Missoula County Still Waiting For CARES Act Funding; Accuses State Of Restricting Funds,” Missoula Current, 7/23/2020)

“‘This money is meant for the current, right-now economy,’ [Montana] Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville, told MTN News. ‘This money is not for Christmas. … To be dribbling it out at a snail’s pace is absolute failure.’” (“Bullock Allocates $800M Of Federal Covid Money; Only $160M Distributed,” MTN News, 7/23/2020)

Illinois: Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker

“City leaders in Illinois anticipated they would see about $800 million set aside to help them cover their coronavirus expenses. Last month, however, state lawmakers opted to dedicate to them about a quarter of that, according to [Brad] Cole [executive director of the Illinois Municipal League], who leads the state’s municipal association. The limited funds now must be split among roughly 100 counties and 1,200 cities, leaving Illinois officials fearful about their finances as they rack up once-unthinkable coronavirus expenses.” (“State, Local Governments Wrestle Over Quickly Dwindling Coronavirus Aid, Complicating Talks On Next Federal Bill,” The Washington Post, 7/13/2020)

Pritzker Wants More Federal Money To Pay Down His State’s ‘Massive’ Deficit

“In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the dollars so far have helped purchase masks and other equipment and support local businesses in need. But the money still can’t be used to help the state address its biggest challenge — a massive $6 billion deficit.” (“State, Local Governments Wrestle Over Quickly Dwindling Coronavirus Aid, Complicating Talks On Next Federal Bill,” The Washington Post, 7/13/2020)

North Carolina: Democrat Gov. Rory Cooper

“In North Carolina, meanwhile, state leaders received $4 billion under the Cares Act to cover their coronavirus expenses. But they put aside just about $300 million for counties to divvy up among themselves and more than 300 local cities and towns. The allotment has frustrated cities such as Greensboro, where Mayor Nancy Vaughan said they expected more money — and are now ‘incurring significant expenses’ without a clear indication about how much money they will see reimbursed.” (“State, Local Governments Wrestle Over Quickly Dwindling Coronavirus Aid, Complicating Talks On Next Federal Bill,” The Washington Post, 7/13/2020)