Attorney General Mark R. Herring today has joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general sending a letter urging Congress to extend CARES Act funding until the end of 2021.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented economic crisis with millions of Americans out of work and communities across the country suffering,” Herring said. “Congress has a responsibility to provide states and communities crucial funding to help offset some of the economic burdens this pandemic has created, which is why the CARES Act must be extended.”
Congress passed the CARES Act in March, providing more than $2 trillion in economic stimulus to state and local governments in an effort to combat the impacts of the pandemic.
One of the restrictions placed on the funding, however, limits the money’s use to expenses incurred between March 1, 2020, and Dec. 30, 2020.
As Herring and his colleagues write in the letter, this time frame “likely made sense in late March when the CARES Act was passed, but we have learned a great deal about COVID-19 in the past seven months. Among other things, we know that the pandemic will continue to challenge communities well beyond December 30, 2020 – a deadline that now seems unreasonable.”
As the pandemic surges around the country, states and local communities will continue to incur COVID-related expenses next year and by extending the deadline, communities nationwide will be able to be more strategic with the use of CARES Act funds.
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