![]() Some local government officials initially had concerns that debt-limit spending cuts could claw back billions of unspent dollars authorized under the American Rescue Plan. If the remaining funds are pulled back, additional applications might not be approved. The nearly $7.2 billion program provides money for schools and libraries to buy laptop or tablet computers, wi-fi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connection services for use by students, school staff and library patrons.ĭata provided by the FCC indicates that about $6.7 billion had been committed to projects as of May. One program that could face cuts is the Emergency Communications Fund run by the Federal Communications Commission. But it did not provide estimates of how much could be lost for specific programs.ĭemocrats on the House Appropriations Committee provided their own estimates of pandemic relief funds that could be cut, including billions of unobligated dollars for vaccines, health care providers and public health initiatives. The CBO said much of the reduction could come from public health, infrastructure, rental assistance, community development and disaster relief programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that halting the use of unobligated pandemic relief funds would result in a net spending reduction of $30 billion over the next decade. “If the money was authorized to fight the pandemic but was not spent during the pandemic, it should not be spent after the pandemic is over," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said while introducing the GOP's debt-limit package last month. Biden appears likely to go along with that. ![]() With the expiration of the nation's public health emergency, Republicans contend it's time to claw back leftover pandemic-era funds. Still other funds were designated for state and local governments to offset their lost revenues or finance programs, services and projects. ![]() Other funds went to offset the economic and social effects of the pandemic, including aid to the unemployed and homeless and assistance for schools that had to shift to online instruction or take extra classroom precautions. Some of that went to things directly associated with the virus outbreak, such as vaccines, COVID-19 test kits, public health expenses and stockpiles of masks and other personal protective equipment. Collectively, those laws provided about $4.6 trillion for pandemic response and recovery efforts. Republican debt-limit proposals to trim federal spending target six coronavirus relief laws passed by Congress in 20. Several smaller programs contained in that same law - including one that helps schools and libraries connect people to the internet - could lose funds that have not yet been committed to particular projects. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |