ARPA
Child care advocates, chamber of commerce urge reconsideration of budget
Policy and business advocates alike are hoping the Ohio legislature will reconsider changes to the state budget with regard to the child care workforce and scholarships. The House revised the budget bill last week, eliminating $150 million in American Rescue Plan funds that were a part of the governor’s executive budget proposal to establish a […]
States criticized for spending federal relief funds on tax cuts, prisons
As states plan how they’ll spend the $25 billion remaining in federal COVID relief funds, some also are facing criticism and renewed scrutiny over how they allocated money already received from the American Rescue Plan Act. Of the $198 billion authorized by Congress in 2021, $173 billion already has been appropriated by states, the District […]
Gov. DeWine signs multibillion-dollar funding bill
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a measure passed late in the previous session which appropriates nearly $6 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The governor declined to issue any line-item vetoes despite calls to do so, particularly from affordable housing advocates. Friday morning DeWine acknowledged “no legislation is perfect,” but […]
Two communities find a cure for medical debt: pandemic stimulus funds
Local governments in Ohio and Illinois are using American Rescue Plan Act money to relieve residents struggling with medical debt by partnering with an organization that buys debt and wipes the slate clean for debtors. It’s a strategy advocates say could be duplicated across the country to help erase a multibillion-dollar problem. On Nov. 9, […]
Ohioans speak in White House economic update on Black Americans
An Ohio nonprofit leader met with White House officials and a former U.S. Congresswoman from Ohio Wednesday to talk about how Biden administration measures have impacted Black Americans. Prentiss Haney, co-executive director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative spoke with members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet and special assistants to the president in the areas of […]
DeWine’s hypocrisy on American Rescue Plan dollars as garish as it gets
This is nothing new. Supposedly anti-“Big Government” state leaders slam D.C. politicians for “reckless spending” when D.C. gets things done on health care, education, infrastructure, the environment, stimulus, jobs, the economy. Then those state politicians turn right around and allocate billions in new funding, installing new federally funded programs and initiatives in their states. Then […]