WASHINGTON — Eight states have yet to authorize spending any of the billions of dollars in federal aid they received under President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief plan earlier this year, according to a think tank analysis.
States have until 2024 to spend their portion of the $350 billion in federal aid distributed to state and local governments as part of Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The aid to states and local governments made up roughly a sixth of the $2 trillion relief package approved by Congress in March, one of Biden’s biggest legislative victories.
Many states have steered those funds toward replacing lost revenue or economic relief programs, but a handful of mostly Republican states will head into the new year without having spent a dollar from the program. The eight states cumulatively represent roughly $16.5 billion in unspent aid.
