COVID relief
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 […]
U.S. House panel probes extent of fraud in federal COVID-19 relief programs
WASHINGTON — From 2020 to 2022, a group of Minnesotans pretended to be serving meals to low-income children, all the while filing for reimbursement under a federal COVID-19 relief program aimed to buoy child nutrition as schools and childcare centers closed. In all, the schemers defrauded the government of $250 million, the Minnesota Reformer reported. Three […]
LIST: Notable lame-duck Ohio bills that have now passed ahead of the holiday recess
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. While several high-profile bills that would have altered the State Board of Education’s role […]
White House asks Congress for billions in Ukraine, COVID-19 funding during lame duck
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday asked Congress for billions more in funding this year to address COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, suggesting lawmakers attach it to a spending bill that must pass before Dec. 16. The $9 billion request for COVID-19 operations and nearly $38 billion in additional relief for Ukraine […]
Will it be ‘every state for themselves’ as the federal COVID cash dries up?
WASHINGTON — State and local health departments remain in limbo over whether they’ll need to single-handedly fund their own COVID-19 vaccines and treatments as a stalemate in Congress drags into its fourth month. The Biden administration has raised alarm bells about the risk of inaction after sending Congress a request for $22.5 billion in early […]
White House pushes COVID antiviral amid funding stalemate with Congress
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration hopes that a new push to get a COVID-19 antiviral into more pharmacies, along with getting the message through to doctors that it’s no longer in short supply, will help reduce hospitalizations. The plan to ship out more of the antiviral comes as Congress returns from a recess this week […]
With COVID funding stuck in Congress, White House raises alarms about shortfall
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is warning that the United States would not be prepared for another COVID-19 variant or surge in cases if Congress doesn’t approve billions in stalled emergency funding. Senior administration officials told reporters Tuesday that without the $22.5 billion the White House requested last month, there will be a drop-off in the federal […]
U.S. government shutdown days away as Congress struggles on Ukraine aid, COVID-19 relief
WASHINGTON — With just five days left before government funding expires, Democrats and Republicans are trying to reach agreement on $1.5 trillion in federal spending as well as billions more in assistance to Ukraine and COVID-19 relief. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote Monday morning that Democrats made “a reasonable global offer to Republicans” […]
Biden says ‘big chunks’ of his spending bill could still succeed, including climate plan
President Joe Biden said Wednesday the climate and child care provisions in his domestic spending agenda could still become law this year, even as the larger plan has stalled in the Senate over other items that Biden conceded may not pass — such as an expanded child tax credit. In a nearly two-hour news conference, […]
Congress should extend a helping hand to small businesses still on the road to recovery
By Greg Manger This holiday season seems merrier and brighter with the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic hopefully behind us. But for many small business owners like me, the holiday cheer can’t mask the feeling that a winter storm is gathering and that small businesses across the country will need a hand — not a handout […]
Federal judge sides with GOP states challenging limits on tax cuts in pandemic relief law
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Alabama has ruled in favor of attorneys general in 13 Republican-led states that sued the federal government over a section of a coronavirus relief bill that barred states from using relief money to offset tax cuts. The ruling, which granted a permanent injunction, found that the prohibition on state […]
How the new, expanded federal child tax credit will work
WASHINGTON — The most ambitious part of the pandemic stimulus package signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year is about to hit the bank accounts of millions of U.S. parents. Starting next week and ending in December, the vast majority of U.S. households with children will begin receiving monthly payments as a result of changes […]