ARPA Impact Report: An Analysis of How Counties are Addressing National Issues With Local Investments
America's nearly 40,000 county elected officials and 3.6 million county employees are on the frontlines of the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic. As the country emerges from the pandemic and grapples with the toll it has taken on our citizens, counties are responding and rebuilding. At the same time, many counties are still confronting significant workforce shortage pressures at a time with growing, critical resident needs.
With American Rescue Plan funds, counties are strengthening America's workforce, addressing the nation's behavioral health crisis, expanding broadband access, improving housing affordability and building prosperous communities for the next generation.
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NACo Analysis of the American Rescue Plan Act
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County Investments of American Rescue Plan Recovery Funds
U.S. Forest Service seeks comment on proposal to rescind 2001 Roadless Rule in National Forests
On August 20, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. The rule prohibits road construction, reconstruction and most timber management on almost 45 million acres of National Forest land, and its repeal would give federal forest managers significant flexibility to manage forests in accordance with local need.
Senate Agriculture Committee passes Farm Bill
On September 16, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee held a markup of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Senate's version of the 2026 Farm Bill.
Post-Disaster Protection Act advances through the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
On Sept. 15, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed the Post-Disaster Protection Act (H.R. 8409), favorably reporting it to the full legislative body for consideration.
Supreme Court declines emergency review of USPS mail-in ballot rule, leaving nationwide block in place
The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision to allow the Trump administration to move forward with its Executive Order 14399 directing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to compile official U.S. citizenship lists to be used in voter citizenship verification and the U.S. Postal Service to impose new mail-in ballot restrictions.
Census Bureau proposes permanent changes to the 2030 Decennial Census
On September 10, the U.S Census Bureau published a proposed rule to the 2030 Decennial Census that would create two new parts of the 15 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that among other changes would a) define “usual residence” that excludes foreign persons previously counted that are not U.S. citizens or lawful residents, and b) would eliminate any questions about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation from the census questionnaire used to enumerate the population. The proposed ruling outlines only 30 days for public comments, which are due on October 13.
HUD expected to revise CoC NOFO following court decision
New HUD notice signals revised CoC NOFO coming