[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3390-S3391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1870. Mr. REED submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FOR
STATES, TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, AND LOCAL
COMMUNITIES.
(a) State & Local Emergency Stabilization Fund.--Title VI
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 602. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FOR
STATES, TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, AND LOCAL
COMMUNITIES.
``(a) Appropriation.--
``(1) In general.--Out of any money in the Treasury of the
United States not otherwise appropriated, there are
appropriated for making payments under this section to
States, Tribal governments, and local communities described
in subsection (c)(6), $600,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.
The amount appropriated under this paragraph and paid in
accordance with this section shall be in addition to the
amount appropriated under subsection (a) of section 601 and
paid to States, Tribal governments, and units of local
government under that section.
``(2) Reservation of funds.--Of the amount appropriated
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reserve--
``(A) $3,000,000,000 of such amount for making payments to
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa under subsection
(c)(7);
``(B) $10,000,000,000 of such amount for making payments to
Tribal governments under subsection (c)(8);
``(C) $59,000,000,000 of such amount for the portion of the
payments made to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that is determined under
subsection (c)(5); and
``(D) $205,000,000,000 of such amount for making payments
to local communities under subsection (c)(6).
``(b) Deadline for Payments.--The Secretary shall make the
payments determined under subsection (c) not later than 15
days after the date of enactment of this section.
``(c) Payment Amounts.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the amount
paid under this section for fiscal year 2020 to a State that
is one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall be the sum of--
``(A) the relative population proportion amount determined
for the State under paragraph (3) for such fiscal year; and
``(B) the relative coronavirus infection rate proportion
amount determined for the State under paragraph (5) for such
fiscal year.
``(2) Minimum payment.--
``(A) In general.--No State that is one of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
shall receive a payment under this section for fiscal year
2020 that is less than $5,000,000,000.
``(B) Pro rata adjustments.--The Secretary shall adjust on
a pro rata basis the amount of the payments for each of the
50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, determined under this subsection without regard
to this subparagraph to the extent necessary to comply with
the requirements of subparagraph (A).
``(3) Relative population proportion amount.--For purposes
of paragraph (1)(A), the relative population proportion
amount determined under this paragraph for a State for fiscal
year 2020 is the product of--
``(A) the amount appropriated under subsection (a)(1) for
fiscal year 2020 that remains after the application of the
reservations made under subsection (a)(2); and
``(B) the relative State population proportion (as defined
in paragraph (4)) determined for such fiscal year.
``(4) Relative state population proportion defined.--For
purposes of paragraph (3)(B), the term `relative State
population proportion' means, with respect to each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the quotient of--
``(A) the population of the State, District of Columbia, or
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (as applicable); and
``(B) the sum of the populations of each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico.
``(5) Relative coronavirus infection rate proportion
amount.--For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the relative
coronavirus infection rate proportion amount determined under
this paragraph for each of the 50 States, the District of
Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, for fiscal
year 2020 is the product of--
``(A) the amount reserved under subsection (a)(2)(C); and
``(B) the quotient of--
``(i) the coronavirus infection rate determined for the
State, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
(as applicable); and
``(ii) the sum of the coronavirus infection rates
determined for each of the 50 States, the District of
Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
``(6) Payments to local communities.--
``(A) In general.--From the amount reserved under
subsection (a)(2)(D), the Secretary shall pay--
``(i) 70 percent of the amount so reserved directly to the
metropolitan cities and urban counties (as those terms are
defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)) in the State that
received allocations under section 106(b) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(b)) for
fiscal year 2019, pursuant to the same formula used to make
such allocations under that section for such fiscal year; and
``(ii) subject to subparagraph (C), 30 percent of the
amount so reserved directly to each of the 50 States, to be
distributed by such States upon receipt on a pass-through
basis, and without requiring any application, to units of
general local government in nonentitlement areas (as such
terms are defined in such section 102) in such States, in
amounts equal to the relative sum of the populations of such
units of general local government in each such State as a
proportion of the total population of all such units of
general local government in all of the 50 States.
``(B) Units of general local government in nonentitlement
areas with overlapping populations or consolidated
governments.--If two or more units of general local
government in nonentitlement areas have overlapping
populations or have formed a consolidated government--
``(i) the population of the unit of general local
government with the largest population among such overlapping
populations or that is part of such consolidated government
shall be the population used for purposes of determining the
amount to be paid directly to a State under clause (ii) of
subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) the chief executive officer of the State shall
distribute the portion of such payment that is based on such
population among the units of general local government with
such overlapping populations or that are part of such
consolidated government, in amounts equal to the relative
populations of such units of general local government as a
proportion of such payment portion, unless--
``(I) the units of general local government involved notify
such chief executive officer of their agreement regarding how
such payment portion is to be distributed among them, based
on the aggregate population of such units of general local
government, in which case such chief executive officer shall
make distributions in accordance with that agreement; or
``(II) in the case of a consolidated government, the
consolidated government notifies such chief executive officer
of a determination of the consolidated government regarding
how such payment portion is to be distributed among the units
of local government represented by the consolidated
government, based on the aggregate population of such units
of general local government, in which case such chief
executive officer shall make distributions in accordance with
that determination.
``(C) Treatment of states not acting as pass-through agents
under cdbg.--In the case of a State that has not elected to
distribute amounts allocated under section 106(d)(1) of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5306(d)(1)), the Secretary shall act in place of the State
for purposes of determining the amount of, and distributing
on a pass-through basis, and without requiring any
application, payments
[[Page S3391]]
to units of general local government in nonentitlement areas
in that State under subparagraph (A)(ii).
``(7) Payments to territories.--The amount paid under this
section to the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or American
Samoa, shall be the amount equal to the product of--
``(A) the amount reserved under subsection (a)(2)(A); and
``(B) each such territory's share of the combined total
population of all such territories, as determined by the
Secretary.
``(8) Payments to tribal governments.--The amounts paid
under this section to Tribal governments from the amount
reserved under subsection (a)(2)(B) shall be determined in
the same manner as the amounts paid to Tribal governments
under section 601(c)(7).
``(9) Data.--For purposes of determining--
``(A) the population of each of the 50 States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United
States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and units of general local
government, the Secretary shall use the most recent year for
which data are available from the Bureau of the Census; and
``(B) the relative coronavirus infection rate proportion
amounts under paragraph (5), the Secretary shall use the most
recent daily updated data on the number of COVID-19 cases
published on the internet by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
``(d) Other Provisions.--
``(1) In general.--The amounts paid under this section
shall be subject to--
``(A) the use of funds and oversight requirements of
subsections (d) and (f) of section 601 in the same manner as
such requirements apply to the amounts paid under that
section; and
``(B) the definitions of each paragraph of section 601(g)
other than paragraph (2) of that section.
``(2) IG funding authority.--Notwithstanding section
601(f)(3), the Inspector General of the Department of the
Treasury may use the amount appropriated under that section
to carry out oversight and recoupment activities under this
section in addition to the oversight and recoupment
activities carried out under section 601(f).
``(3) Nonapplication.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the requirements applicable to the amount
appropriated for fiscal year 2020 under section 601(a)(1) (as
added by section 5001 of Public Law 116-136) shall not apply
to the amount appropriated under subsection (a) of this
section for such fiscal year.''.
(b) Additional Authority to Use Payments to Make up Revenue
Shortfalls.--Effective as if included in the enactment of the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public
Law 116-136), subsection (d) of section 601 of the Social
Security Act, as added by section 5001(a) of the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, is amended to read as
follows:
``(d) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--A State, Tribal government, and unit of
local government may use the funds provided under a payment
made under this section for any expenditures during the
period that begins on January 1, 2020, and ends on June 30,
2022--
``(A) to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the public
health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) or the declaration by the President under section
401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) of
a major disaster or emergency with respect to COVID-19; or
``(B) to provide services, benefits, or assistance, or
support programs, projects, and operations, accounted for in
the budget for the State, Tribal government, or unit of local
government approved for any fiscal year occurring during the
period that begins on January 1, 2020, and ends on June 30,
2022 (without regard to any relation to the Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19)).
``(2) Non-federal funding.--For the purpose of meeting the
non-Federal share requirement of any Federal grant-in-aid
program or other form of Federal assistance, including
assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)
and the Medicaid program established under title XIX, funds
provided under a payment made under this section to a State,
Tribal government, or unit of local government are deemed to
be non-Federal funds.
``(3) Limitation.--A State, Tribal government, or unit of
local government may not use funds provided under a payment
made under this section to provide any kind of tax cut,
rebate, deduction, credit, or any other tax benefit, or to
reduce or eliminate any fee imposed by the State, Tribal
government, or unit of local government, during the period
described in paragraph (1).''.
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