[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 132 (Monday, July 27, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E686-E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CRITICAL NEED FOR DIRECT, FLEXIBLE, LOCALITY ASSISTANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 27, 2020

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to shine a light on the critical 
need for equitable, direct, and flexible locality assistance in 
upcoming COVID relief legislation in the face of the dire COVID-19 
economic and public health crisis. Locality revenues have fallen 
precipitously, forcing communities to make overwhelmingly difficult 
decisions, including to furlough emergency first responders who are 
needed now more than ever.
  Due to Republican provisions that diverted CARES Act locality 
assistance largely to state capitals, hardworking communities under 
500,000 across the nation and Northern Ohio were severely shortchanged. 
These provisions largely favored financial power and capital centers 
leaving Main Street communities behind. The rich get richer and the 
poor get poorer. Welcome to the Trump Swamp.
  I include in the Record an OPED I wrote to shine a light on these 
concerning provisions.
  In response, the Democratic House took action and passed the HEROES 
Act to provide direct assistance to every locality. Every municipality 
would receive assistance for two fiscal years based on a modified CDBG 
formula, and all counties would receive a population-based allocation.
  While this critical legislation passed the House of Representatives 
in May, it continues to languish in the Senate still awaiting action. I 
call on our Republican colleagues in the Senate and the Trump 
Administration to take action now. Too much is at stake for more 
handwringing.

   The CARES Coronavirus Relief Fund--A Robin Hood Plan for the Rich

                    (By Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur)

       In this important Presidential election year, let me define 
     a key difference between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats 
     fight for all people. Republicans don't. That is why 
     Democrats created Social Security and Medicare for every 
     American. That is why Democrats are fighting to pass the 
     HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) to help all people in communities 
     impacted by the COVID-19 recession. Republicans are not. 
     Every American can gauge the fairness or unfairness of the 
     Republican-drafted CARES Act (H.R. 748) vs. the Democratic-
     drafted HEROES bill by their return of your tax dollars to 
     help your community.
       Despite the proportionally higher COVID-19 infection rates 
     in the time of greatest human need, the majority of northern 
     Ohio communities I represent like Cleveland, Lorain, 
     Sandusky, and Toledo got nothing that can be described as 
     fair or proportionate from the CARES Act. How can this be as 
     Donald Trump kicked off his 2020 campaign in northern Ohio in 
     Toledo on January 9, 2020? He made countless promises to help 
     the City and its people. He promised his audience steel jobs 
     were back at nearby Lorain mills, which was an outright 
     falsehood.
       Let's do a bit of simple math. If $150 billion of the CARES 
     State/Local Coronavirus Relief Fund were divided equally per 
     capita based on U.S. population in each jurisdiction, every 
     community in our nation would be receiving close to $454.50 
     per person times the population of that community. In a fair 
     allocation formula, that amount of funding would be 
     multiplied by the population of the jurisdiction (based on 
     the most recent Census data) to obtain a fair share of 
     federal CARES support to your community. If your community, 
     for example, has a population of 100 people, your community 
     would get back $45,450 to help preserve your emergency 
     coverage or pay your community's part time doctor.
       In Lorain, with a population of 64,000, this would equal 
     $29 million. Instead, Lorain gets $0. In Cleveland, with a 
     population of 384,000, this would equal $174 million. Instead 
     Cleveland gets $0.
       Mind you, our communities were not the only ones completely 
     shortchanged. In Flint, Michigan with a population of 96,000, 
     a fair allocation would return $44 million. Instead, Flint 
     gets $0. In Pittsburgh, PA with a population of 301,048, a 
     fair return would be $137 million. Instead, Pittsburgh gets 
     $0. Gary, IN with a population of 75,000, should have 
     received $34 million. Instead, Gary gets $0. Duluth, MN has a 
     population of 86,000, and should have received $39 million. 
     Instead, Duluth gets $0. Des Moines, IA has a population of 
     217,000, and should have received $99 million. Instead, it 
     gets $0. Little Rock, AR, with a population of 198,000, 
     should have received $90 million. Instead, it gets $0. 
     Jackson, MS has a population of 164,422. Its fair share would 
     have been $75 million, yet it got $0. The list of losers 
     across the Heartland and South is long: Peoria, St. Louis, 
     Kenosha, Charleston, Des Moines, New Orleans, Selma, 
     Birmingham, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, Nashville, and many 
     others.
       Senate Republicans drafted a Robin Hood bill for the rich. 
     Their numbers-juggling took from struggling communities and 
     transferred funds to the richest. The Trump formula tilts 
     heavily against Main Street America. It diverts critical 
     funds to financial power and capital city centers, and 
     essentially metropolises with over 500,000 persons. For 
     example, New York City received $1.45 billion, San Francisco 
     $154 million, and Chicago $469 million. Based on an 
     equitable, per capita distribution of CARES Coronavirus 
     Relief Funds, each Congressional District should have 
     received close to $345 million. Instead, while districts with 
     the highest median income were taken care of, those with the 
     lowest median incomes clearly lost out. In fact, the urban 
     district I represent ranks 403 out of 435 congressional 
     districts in median income per household, and received 
     nothing that could be considered fair. Of the top 30 
     wealthiest Congressional Districts, all but two received a 
     handsome allocation. Yet, for the bottom 86 Districts, only 
     20 received something close to equitable. The rich get richer 
     and the poor get poorer. Welcome to the Trump swamp.
       Further, due to provisions included in the CARES Act by 
     Republican Senators and the White House, over $87.5 billion 
     in CARES funding is slated directly to a majority of

[[Page E687]]

     Republican controlled State capitals to distribute. To be 
     exact, 59% of all State legislatures controlled by 
     Republicans will redistribute your tax dollars. As a result, 
     state governments will determine through a lopsided political 
     process, which communities do and don't receive federal 
     relief dollars. For example, a recent Ohio Senate Bill 
     (S.B. 310) proposes to distribute only 7.7% of its $4.533 
     billion federal allocation to localities, which translates 
     to $29.90 per capita vs. a fair allocation of $454.50 per 
     capita from the CARES Act. At a time of such national 
     stress, how repugnant is this Republican unequal 
     distribution. In effect, communities across Northern Ohio 
     are being shortchanged and losing millions of dollars: 
     Cleveland (-$163 million), Toledo (-$117 million), Lorain 
     (-$27 million), Lakewood (-$22 million), and Parma (-$33.4 
     million).

                                        COMPARATIVE RETURN OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO COMMUNITIES, CARES VS. HEROES ACT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               CARES Equal Per
                                                                    CARES           Capita         Estimated Ohio     FY20 Estimated     FY21 Estimated
                            Locality                               Locality      Allocations     Allocations (S.B.        HEROES             HEROES
                                                                 Allocations    (Theoretical)       310 Pending)       Allocations        Allocations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toledo.........................................................           $0       $124,976,138        $10,078,625       $362,033,245       $181,016,622
Sandusky.......................................................           $0        $11,232,513           $509,672        $35,551,881        $17,775,940
Lorain.........................................................           $0        $29,100,726         $3,305,501        $58,997,836        $29,498,918
Parma..........................................................           $0        $35,792,330         $2,388,115        $46,518,935        $23,259,467
Lakewood.......................................................           $0        $23,508,558         $2,352,577        $96,486,908        $48,243,454
Cleveland......................................................           $0       $174,433,919        $31,665,995     $1,038,682,671       $519,341,336
Cincinnati.....................................................           $0       $137,533,974        $15,659,518       $559,404,059       $279,702,030
Dayton.........................................................           $0        $63,920,880         $8,095,038       $282,218,173       $141,109,087
Youngstown.....................................................           $0        $29,523,411         $1,967,717       $170,034,169        $85,017,085
Akron..........................................................           $0        $89,993,727         $8,012,136       $294,247,102       $147,123,551
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       In the CARES Act, Republican rural, and small states were 
     also guaranteed $1.5 billion regardless of their population, 
     or COVID infection rates. When topline CARES states/locality 
     funding is analyzed and the allocation divided evenly by 
     population, Ohio received an average $388 per capita. Yet, 
     Republican states like South Dakota received $1,413 per 
     capita, Alaska received $1,709, Wyoming $2,160, and North 
     Dakota $1,640. How is a hard-working Ohioan from a community 
     that has already suffered deindustrialization and outsourcing 
     worth less than other Americans?

                 CARES ACT STATE PER CAPITA ALLOCATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Per Capita CARES
                        State                             Act Funding
                                                           Allocation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ohio.................................................               $388
Alaska...............................................             $1,709
North Dakota.........................................             $1,640
South Dakota.........................................             $1,413
Idaho................................................               $699
Nebraska.............................................               $646
Wyoming..............................................             $2,160
Delaware.............................................             $1,284
Montana..............................................             $1,170
Kansas...............................................               $429
Maine................................................               $930
West Virginia........................................               $697
Mississippi..........................................               $420
------------------------------------------------------------------------

       To address these grievous injustices, I led an effort to 
     request Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to certify 
     ``Locality'' assistance of northern Ohio's two economic 
     regions whose population does exceed 500,000 persons--the 
     Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency's (NOACA) and 
     Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments' (TMACOG). 
     Secretary Mnuchin dismissed the requests out of hand stating, 
     ``Treasury relied on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.'' Our 
     regions should qualify by any reasonable measure of economic 
     performance, COVID-19, and population distribution.
       In effect, the CARES Act authorizes the disbursement of an 
     enormous sum of money back to only some communities, but not 
     all. The bill picks winners and losers. It does not give 
     equal amounts based on population and certainly not need. It 
     is very lopsided. By contrast, the HEROES Act leaves no 
     community out. This bill would provide a fairer allocation to 
     municipalities for two fiscal years based on a modified 
     Community Development Block Grant formula. All counties would 
     receive direct funding based on population. While this 
     legislation has passed the House of Representatives, it is 
     sitting in the Senate and awaiting action.
       Democratic Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal best summed 
     up Democratic dismay: ``Remember, Democrats control only one 
     half of one third of the government of the United States.'' 
     The American people now must keep their eyes peeled on the 
     Republican Senate and their state legislatures. Otherwise, 
     millions of Americans are going to face their municipalities 
     declaring bankruptcy with the massive furloughing of police 
     officers, firefighters, emergency service personnel, and 
     other first responders. Bankruptcy of America's communities 
     may be Senator Mitch McConnell's solution. That is barbarian. 
     We owe a fair shake to the American people in all our 
     communities. Let's fix the skewed formula in the CARES Act. 
     Ensure population-based, fair allocations of federal 
     coronavirus relief funding in future legislation. Democrats 
     must lead with equity. Shortchange no region. Restore 
     fairness to the American people.

                          ____________________