Today, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-03) hailed the U.S. Department of the Treasury's announcement that Kentucky will receive more than $3.7 billion in state and local government funding from the American Rescue Plan--legislation ushered through Congress by Yarmuth--including more than $388 million in funding to Louisville and Jefferson County.
In total, Kentucky's state government will receive more than $2.1 billion, county governments will receive $867.7 million, Kentucky's metro cities will receive $395.3 million, and the state's non-entitlement or smaller municipalities will receive $324.2 million. Non-entitlement unit funding will be administered by the state. The Treasury's full lists of States, Counties, Metropolitan Cities, and Non-Entitlement Units receiving funding are available at each link.
"As the lead sponsor of the American Rescue Plan, I could not be happier to see the legislation I introduced bringing $3.7 billion to Kentucky and $388 million to Louisville for vaccinations, vital support for workers and businesses, and to help our communities come out of this crisis stronger than before," said Yarmuth. "For too long in our country, working families have been left to face personal and widespread crises on their own with little or no help from their government. I'm proud to work with President Biden and my fellow Democrats to put those days behind us, to get government back in the business of helping the people who elect us. This is a massive step in the right direction."
The Treasury Department announced the allocations this afternoon, along with interim guidance on eligible uses of the funding for state and local governments. A fact sheet on that guidance is available here.
"Today is a milestone in our country's recovery from the pandemic and its adjacent economic crisis. With this funding, communities hit hard by COVID-19 will be able to return to a semblance of normalcy; they'll be able to rehire teachers, firefighters and other essential workers -- and to help small businesses reopen safely," said Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen. "There are no benefits to enduring two historic economic crises in a 13-year span, except for one: We can improve our policymaking. During the Great Recession, when cities and states were facing similar revenue shortfalls, the federal government didn't provide enough aid to close the gap. That was an error. Insufficient relief meant that cities had to slash spending, and that austerity undermined the broader recovery. With today's announcement, we are charting a very different -- and much faster -- course back to prosperity."
Kentucky will also have access to an additional estimated $185 million later this year through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Capital Projects Fund was established to provide $10 billion in funding to states, territories, and Tribes to carry out critical capital projects directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Treasury will begin to accept Capital Projects Fund applications for review in the summer of 2021 and will issue guidance before that date. More information can be found on the Treasury Department's Capital Projects Fund website.