Johnson, Bourdeaux Introduce Bill to Allow Unspent Covid Relief Dollars for Infrastructure

Press Release

Today, U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-07) introduced the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, to make various infrastructure investments eligible for payment with unspent COVID-19 relief funds. The legislation recently passed the U.S. Senate unanimously.

Under the American Rescue Plan Act and the original CARES Act relief package, Congress provided some flexibility for how COVID funds could be spent, but most funds were not able to be used for infrastructure projects. This bill gives state and local officials additional flexibility and time to responsibly spend remaining COVID-19 relief dollars. South Dakota has more than $375 million in unused relief funds.

"State governments need flexibility, and this bill is good policy," said Johnson. "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."

"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. I urge the House to take up the Senate-passed legislation and give our local governments the flexibility they need to thrive."

Additionally, the bill permits eligible governments to spend the greater of $10 million or 30% of their total fiscal relief funding for categories like the: National Highway Performance Program, Tribal Transportation Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, and the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

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