Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes ofwebsite accessibility

Fact Check Team: How federal COVID funds are being spent


The federal government has spent trillions of dollars to offer relief from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, some states are using those funds for other initiatives like fighting climate change and private-school vouchers. The Fact Check Team is following the money to understand how taxpayer dollars are being spent. (Storyblocks)
The federal government has spent trillions of dollars to offer relief from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, some states are using those funds for other initiatives like fighting climate change and private-school vouchers. The Fact Check Team is following the money to understand how taxpayer dollars are being spent. (Storyblocks)
Facebook Share IconTwitter Share IconEmail Share Icon

WASHINGTON (TND) — The federal government has spent trillions of dollars to offer relief from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, some states are using those funds for other initiatives like fighting climate change and private-school vouchers.

The Fact Check Team is following the money to understand how taxpayer dollars are being spent.

In California, the state budget has ballooned over the past three years, going from $143 billion in general revenue to $158 billion, then $161 billion this last year.

The state received close to $26 billion from the government in funds from the American Rescue Plan. Last March, officials said that funding would be used “just like any other state revenue source."

Combining the American Rescue Plan and higher tax revenues, California has a $47 billion surplus.

Now, it’s being asked if the $7.5 billion being spent on environmental packages would be possible without the American Rescue Plan — a federal act specifically dedicated to COVID relief.

On the state’s budget website, the “key reason” for their budget surplus is that “the budget package uses $8.9 billion in American Rescue Plan fiscal relief funds to offset general fund revenue losses.”

According to the California Budget Office, those losses are from what they projected pre-pandemic and from the costs of the pandemic health emergency.

Washington state received billions in federal funds for COVID-19 relief and has $1.3 billion left over.

Republican lawmakers are worried that money will be used for Gov. Jay Inslee’s climate change initiative.

Sen. Shelly Short, R-Wash., says it sends a bad message to use that money on things that aren’t COVID-related.

Inslee is proposing a $626 million climate strategy that “decarbonizes the building sector, successfully implements the climate commitment act, invests more in clean transportation and builds the clean energy future.” The program includes $100 million for an electric vehicle rebate program.

The office of the governor says that COVID relief funds are not being directed to the governor’s climate package and it does appear that the state’s finances are doing well, with the latest revenue forecast projecting an increase of $898 million for the 2021-2023 budget cycle and $965 million for 2023-2025.

Schools are a major part of every discussion about the pandemic and there are also some examples of funding from the government going to parts of the education system that you might not expect.

A key component of the American Rescue Plan was money going to schools for personal protective equipment, virtual learning tools and more but it also took some odd routes.

Reporting from the Associated Press shows a high school in Iowa renovated their weight room and another in Kentucky replaced two of its tracks.

One school district in Whitewater, Wisconsin received nearly $2 million in relief. Of that, $1.6 million went to building new synthetic turf fields for football, baseball and softball.

Justin Crandall, the athletic director, told the school board, “if we don’t do it now with this money, I’m not sure when we would ever do something like this,” which brings up an issue associated with this funding.

While it’s meant for pandemic relief, many less-funded schools are looking to upgrade facilities to modern standards, with sports equipment being a straightforward way to meet the three-year deadline.

Two of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's programs that started in August are being challenged by the Biden administration.

The Education Plus Up Grant Program allowed for district and charter schools following all state laws and remaining open for in-person instruction to apply for $163 million from the American Rescue Plan.

Ducey’s $10 million COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit Program would provide up to $7,000 per student for educational needs for families at or below the poverty line, whose schools have been — what they deemed — unnecessarily closed, or whose schools had mandates not in compliance with state law.

Both of these programs were targeted at restricting funding to schools that had mask or vaccine mandates, which is against Arizona law.

On Friday, the Treasury Department sent Ducey a letter threatening to take away the COVID funds. It says they had 60-days to rearrange the programs that “undermine efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and discourages compliance with evidence-based solutions for stopping the spread of COVID-19.”

The governor said he would respond but also tweeted that the president is “completely out of touch with the American people” and “attempting to rewrite rules around public dollars that will result in less funding to schools and kids — particularly in low-income communities.”




Loading ...