U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA) introduced legislation Monday that would allow unspent COVID-19 relief funds to be used on various infrastructure investments.
The legislation, the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, would give state and local governments flexibility and time to spend COVID-19 relief funds they had previously received as part of the American Rescue Plan Act and the original CARES Act relief package but may have not yet been able to use. Under those acts, funds were not originally able to be used on infrastructure.
“State governments need flexibility, and this bill is good policy,” Johnson said. “The CARES Act restricted local governments from utilizing relief dollars on certain critical infrastructure projects, and the American Rescue Plan prohibits states from returning unused dollars. These are two areas that need to be improved, and this bill accomplishes that goal. I’m grateful to Senator Cornyn for his leadership on the Senate companion.”
The bill would also permit eligible governments to spend the greater of $10 million or 30 percent of their total fiscal relief funding for projects like the National Highway Performance Program, Tribal Transportation Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, and Highway Safety Improvement Program.
Sister legislation has been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
“As we look towards the end of the pandemic, we must ensure our communities have a strong start on the path to recovery,” said Bourdeaux. “This legislation gives states and local governments the flexibility they need to use federally administered COVID-19 relief funding to meet their unique transportation and infrastructure needs.”
This legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Rick Allen (R-GA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), David Rouzer (R-NC), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Randy K. Weber (R-TX), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), and 20 others.