National Association of Counties
Washington, D.C.— Today, the seven leading organizations representing state, territory and local governments —The U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, The Council of State Governments, International City/County Management Association, National Association of Counties, and National League of Cities—sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and all members of the House and Senate urging the inclusion of the Senate-passed State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act in the next must-pass legislative or spending bill so it can be signed into law. Inclusion of this bipartisan provision will give local governments more flexibility when using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to reinvigorate their communities and prepare for the future by addressing critical infrastructure and providing natural disaster response. The bipartisan bill will also allow the Treasury Department to continue its effective administration of this historic program.
The full text of the letter can be viewed here or found below:
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Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader Schumer and Leader McConnell: On behalf of the nation’s state, territory, and local governments, we urge the inclusion of the bipartisan State, Local Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (S. 3011/H.R. 5735) in the next legislative or spending vehicle so that it can be signed into law. This legislation, approved by unanimous consent in the Senate on October 19, 2021, would provide additional flexibility under the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) that was included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and assist with the implementation of this major new program. Since the enactment of ARPA, we have been working collaboratively with our respective memberships, the White House and the U.S. Department of the Treasury to implement the $350 billion provided under the law. We believe that this new legislation would both streamline and strengthen this historic program in a number of key ways, including:
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America’s state, territory, and local governments have been engaged in our nation's response to COVID-19 since the earliest days; and providing these governments with flexible, essential financial resources is the surest way to see that our nation's preparedness and responsivity continue. As intergovernmental partners, we thank you for the support provided through ARPA and respectfully ask you to include S. 3011/H.R. 5735 -inclusive of all provisions contained within the legislation - in the next legislative or spending vehicle to help achieve our shared goals of mitigating, responding to and fostering a transformational recovery from the unprecedented national pandemic.
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<p><strong>Hosted by Joe Rulison, CEO, and William (Bill) Cherry- Director of Public Partnerships of three+one.</strong></p>
<p>In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized the $350 billion State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund), which provided $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid to
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<p>All matters pertaining to the financial resources of counties, fiscal management, federal assistance, municipal borrowing, county revenues, federal budget, federal tax reform, elections and Native American issues.</p>
The IRA offers counties the opportunity to pursue clean energy initiatives and reduce emissions through new competitive grant programs, local resiliency investments and clean energy tax credits.
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