At least 10 states haven’t spent any of the aid from the American Rescue Plan legislation as officials grapple with how to use the unprecedented federal relief that Congress approved almost six months ago.
Tens of billions of dollars that U.S. states got as a lifeline from the Biden administration is sitting idle in local coffers already flush with cash.
Michigan has budgeted just 7% of its $6.5 billion allocation and hadn’t spent any as of last week. South Dakota officials haven’t even gotten around to asking for their $974 million allotted under the White House’s American Rescue Plan legislation. In West Virginia, a state website says detailed plans for its $1.35 billion are “COMING SOON.”
Officials nationwide are grappling with how to spend an unprecedented infusion at a time when their coffers have been replenished by a rebounding economy that in many cases is generating billions more in tax revenue than budgeted for.
Bloomberg CityLab
By Amanda Albright and Danielle Moran
August 17, 2021, 6:54 AM MDT