Letter to Ron DeSantis, Govenor of Florida - Mucarsel-Powell, Soto And Florida Congressmembers Call On DeSantis To Release CARES Act Funding For Florida Cities And Towns

Letter

Dear Governor DeSantis,
Thank you for your efforts to protect the citizens of Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic. As
members of the Florida Congressional delegation, we urge you to immediately release the
remaining Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to all Florida counties, cities, towns.

While the CARES Act gave jurisdictions over 500,000 in population the ability to apply directly
to the U.S. Department of Treasury for CRF funds, it was Congressional intent that jurisdictions
of all sizes benefit from the $150 billion CRF.
Under the CARES Act formula, only 13 Florida political jurisdictions can apply directly for CRF
resources. So, the vast majority of Florida's 67 counties, cities, towns are relying on the State of
Florida to immediately release CRF funding. The CRF is a vital lifeline for maintaining
uninterrupted operation of local government and services and purchase of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE).
We also stress that this is a time sensitive matter. The CARES Act money needs to be spent by
December 31, 2020, and cities and counties are in desperate need of these resources now. Local
governments must pay for incurred and mounting COVID-19 related expenditures, as well as
establish programs to distribute CARES Act money to businesses and nonprofits in their
municipal boundaries (within the parameters and restrictions dictated by the CARES Act) to
ensure their ongoing operations.
Accordingly, we ask that you consider timely releasing the remaining CRF resources to all
Florida counties, cities, towns. We further request that you provide us with status updates and
share your disbursement plan with us so we can continue to keep our constituents
informed. Thank you for your full and fair consideration of our request, consistent with
applicable statutes and regulations. We look forward to your response.

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