Debt limit deal claws back unspent COVID relief money

President Biden speaks during a meeting about the American Rescue Plan on March 5, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Some of the pandemic funding allocated in legislation like the American Rescue Plan is being clawed back as part of a budget deal. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Republican and White House negotiators agreed to claw back approximately $27 billion in funding to federal agencies intended to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The federal COVID emergency officially ended earlier this month, and the unspent funds were an early area of agreement for negotiators trying to avoid a debt default after President Biden said publicly he would be open to looking at what could be given back.

Pulling back funds that have already been appropriated is what's known in budget-speak as "rescission." Based on a document being circulated by the White House to congressional Democrats and obtained by NPR, these rescissions focus on funds that had not been spent by agencies on their respective pandemic-era programs.