Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending (often referred to as earmarks) in early 2021. Since then, hundreds of county governments have secured billions of dollars in funding during the last three funding cycles.

On August 10, the U.S. Department of Treasury released their Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (i.e. Cornyn/Padilla Amendment) that allows counties to invest American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) dollars more flexibly towards new transportation and infrastructure projects, relief from natural disasters and eligible projects under the Community, Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.