House Democratic committee leaders took the next steps in the
fiscal year 2021 budget reconciliation process this week as they
began to unveil legislative text that reflects key components of
President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal.
Pursuant to the recently adopted FY21 budget resolution (S Con
Res 5), 12 House committees are charged with drafting and
approving provisions of the president’s
American Rescue Plan.
In a victory for California’s counties, the House Oversight and
Reform (O&R) Committee’s reconciliation package includes a
new COVID-19 local recovery fund that would provide federal
financial support to counties of every
size. CSAC has
strongly advocated, including in meetings with the Biden
transition team and Members of Congress, that direct and flexible
fiscal relief for all counties be included in the next COVID-19
relief package and is pleased with these local government fiscal
aid provisions. Thank you to all the counties who have also been
urging the inclusion of this funding.
Under the bill, $130.2 billion in funding would be available to
counties and cities, with $65.1 billion allocated to counties
based on population.
This chart shows an estimate of how much each California
county would receive under the House O&R Committee bill. It
should be noted that these are projections from the Congressional
Research Service and subject to change.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury would be required to award
recovery funds directly to states and localities within 60 days
of the bill’s enactment. Funds would be available to
jurisdictions until expended and could be used to respond to or
mitigate the public health emergency; cover costs incurred as a
result of the pandemic; replace revenue that was lost, delayed,
or decreased due to the emergency; and, address the negative
economic impacts of COVID-19. View the
NACo Analysis for a full description of the Local Coronavirus
Fiscal Recovery Fund.
There are numerous other key provisions of the American Rescue
Plan that are positive for counties and have been included by
various House committees in their respective budget
reconciliation measures. See the Update from
Washington D.C. for a full description of these
provisions.
The relevant House panels are on pace to approve all portions of
the stimulus plan by the end of the week, setting the stage for a
vote by the full chamber as early as Friday, February 19. The
proposed Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund is positive and
CSAC and counties will need to continue to advocate for this Fund
to remain in the reconciliation legislation as it moves through
Congress over the coming weeks.
