CARES Act
Groups introduce tracker for Ohio’s COVID funds and suggestions for remaining dollars
Researchers with the Ohio Poverty Law Center and Advocates for Ohio’s Future have built an online tool to track how state and local governments are spending COVID relief dollars. They also have a few ideas for the nearly $2 billion Ohio has left over. Last year’s American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA, sent more than $10 […]
Ohio Supreme Court sides with DeWine in unemployment case
Days before the benefits are set to expire, the Ohio Supreme Court sided with Gov. Mike DeWine in a case questioning his power over unemployment payments, declining a motion for a quicker decision. Ohio residents Shawnee Huff, Candy Bowling and David Willis sued the DeWine administration after he announced the state would no longer be […]
‘Tell the truth,’ Louisiana college president says of struggle to vaccinate returning students
WASHINGTON — Leaders in higher education from Florida and Louisiana on Thursday related how colleges coped with a rough year of online learning and vaccine distribution amid the pandemic, during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. The hearing included Dr. Reynold Verret, the president of Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically […]
K-12 funding boost headed to districts, ACT/SAT opt-out bill headed to the House
The Ohio legislature approved COVID-19 pandemic-related measures to bring more federal monies to K-12 schools, and the House will review another bill to reduce testing requirements for students. The Ohio Senate unanimously passed House Bill 170 on Wednesday, with the House promptly agreeing to the Senate’s version of the bill the same day. “Parents, teachers […]
Federal funds released for school reopening. Ohio gets $3 billion
The U.S. Department of Education announced they would be releasing federal funds directed at school reopening. Of the $81 billion being released to states as part of the latest stimulus relief fund, Ohio was slated to receive nearly $3 billion in funds made available Wednesday. The funds add to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency […]
Bipartisan state, local leaders in Biden meeting push for direct aid in COVID-19 relief
WASHINGTON — Bipartisan mayors from Detroit and Miami who met at the White House on Friday with President Joe Biden emerged saying they back his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package and urged it be passed. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, defended the need for $350 billion in the Biden plan for states and localities, […]
More emergency funding headed to Ohio schools
More funding similar to CARES Act funding Ohio school districts received earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic is headed to the state. The Ohio Department of Education said they expect to receive money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund II (ESSERII) “soon,” of which 90% of the funds will go to traditional school […]
Latest COVID-19 package contains necessary relief, but Congress must do more
When Congress finally passed a pandemic relief bill, it made a down payment on recovery. As overdue as it is, the package provides badly needed, short-term aid as the COVID-19 virus surges and the recession lingers. In coming months, Congress must do much more. At first, federal lawmakers responded swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic, pumping $2.7 […]
Mailbag: How Ohio gov’t x-ray funding involved an anime controversy
We’ve reached the end of the 133rd General Assembly, which means farewell speeches at 1 a.m. and late-night trombone solos. Like Sen. John Eklund, The Ohio Capital Journal Mailbag is always in tune. Let’s get to it: Got a question about Ohio politics/government? Send them by email to [email protected] or tweet them to @tylerjoelb. This […]
Congress seals the deal on emergency relief after dispute over Fed lending settled
WASHINGTON — A deal on a coronavirus relief package finally emerged on Sunday night, after members of Congress resolved a days-long impasse over a provision sought by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania to ensure that several temporary Federal Reserve lending programs will end this year. Working through that disagreement over the Fed was a key final […]
Lawmakers seek Ohio moratorium on evictions, foreclosures
Ohioans struggling to pay their rents or mortgages may head into 2021 without the housing protections and public assistance that have carried them through much of the pandemic this year. A federal moratorium on evictions is about to expire. Two other relief programs helping unemployed Americans are set to run out. There are believed to […]
Washington at a standstill, as states face the loss of federal help amid ‘the worst part of the crisis’
WASHINGTON — The number of coronavirus infections across the country is swelling at a perilous time for state governments, just weeks before federal support rushed through Congress in the pandemic’s early stages is set to end. The expiring provisions from the $2 trillion CARES Act and subsequent executive orders will mean reductions in unemployment benefits […]