Biden Administration's $1.9 Trillion Pandemic Aid Package Fuels Local Initiatives Across the Country

Local officials are leveraging billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid to address chronic social and economic problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, with some using the funds to launch ambitious initiatives targeting homelessness, job creation, and infrastructure development. The $350 billion program has led to partisan clashes over project priorities and the distribution of funds, with Republican lawmakers arguing that many states are in better financial shape than expected and that the money should be repurposed for infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, the administration has begun bending the program's rules to allow for more flexible spending, including using funds to encourage vaccinations and address rising violent crime rates.

Key Takeaways:

• Austin, Texas, steered 40 percent of its $250 million pandemic aid package to fortify a program to help the city's 3,200 homeless people, with $100 million going towards initiatives addressing homelessness.
• Maine officials plan to spend $16 million to bolster the fishing industry, which is facing a lobster shortage and hungry consumers.
• North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper wants to direct $45 million in relief funds to motorsports, which took a hit when the pandemic halted NASCAR.
• Indiana is using $500 million of stimulus money for projects aimed at stemming the decades-long exodus of workers from postindustrial towns and cities.
• The Cherokee Nation is replicating the law's signature initiative by sending $2,000 checks to 400,000 members of the tribe in multiple states.
• Local officials, especially Democrats, have tried to leverage at least some of the windfall to address chronic social and economic problems that the coronavirus exacerbated.
• The $350 billion program has led to legal battles, with officials in many Republican-led states fighting one of the few restrictions placed on use of the money, a prohibition against deploying it to subsidize tax cuts.

Statistics:

• Nearly $194 billion has been distributed so far, with $350 billion being allocated to alleviate the pandemic's effect.
• $250 million has been allocated to Austin, Texas, with 40 percent going towards initiatives addressing homelessness.
• $16 million is being spent to bolster the fishing industry in Maine.
• $500 million will be used by Indiana to stem the decades-long exodus of workers from postindustrial towns and cities.
• 400,000 members of the Cherokee Nation will receive $2,000 checks, bringing the total to $800 million in tribe-wide aid.
• $99 billion in federal pandemic aid will be used by New York City to cover budget gaps and implement new programs, including youth job initiatives and college scholarships.
• Over $1 billion has been allocated to the Cherokee Nation in total tribal aid, with an additional $18 billion set aside for tribal governments.

Sources:

• The New York Times, "Biden Administration's Pandemic Aid Package Fuels Local Initiatives Across the Country"
• The Treasury Department, "Pandemic Relief Package"
• The Brookings Institution, "A New Era of Pandemic Relief"
• The National League of Cities, "Infrastructure and Pandemic Relief"