As Congress left for the July 4th week recess, infrastructure negotiations were continuing after President Biden and a group of 21 bipartisan Senators reached a compromise on a framework for an infrastructure package. The bipartisan group consisted of 11 Republicans, including both North Carolina Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, and 10 Democrats.

On Friday, May 28, President Biden sent Congress a $6 trillion budget request for FY22. This is the Biden Administration’s first full budget, detailing the framework version that was outlined on April 9. It is also the first budget in ten years without spending caps in place.

On Monday, May 10, the last day of the statutory limit, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its long-awaited guidance and allocations distributing $65.1 billion each to cities and counties of all sizes.

The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Program (SLFRP) provides substantial flexibility for each government to meet local needs — including support for households, small businesses, impacted industries, essential workers, and the communities hardest hit by the crisis. These funds can also be used to make necessary investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

President Biden released his American Jobs Plan on Wednesday, March 31.
The package includes transportation, water, housing, broadband, public schools, community colleges, climate action and more. At more than $2 trillion, it is also only the first part of the President’s plan. The President is planning another press conference in the next few weeks on a second large package that includes more people-focused spending priorities favored by Progressives, such as expanded childcare, free community college, universal prekindergarten and more.

On Wednesday, March 10, Congress completed passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The President is expected to sign it into law on Friday, March 12. The 620-page bill includes $350 billion in emergency relief for states, local governments, tribes and territories and other funding for housing, education, food and nutrition, unemployment assistance, vaccines, testing and FEMA assistance. The legislation was considered under the budget reconciliation process that allowed passage in the Senate with a simple majority, so the legislation was approved by House and Senate with no Republican votes supporting it.

Continue reading to see what recovery funds will be available in your area.

Centralina launched a new initiative called Raleigh Relations in the fall of 2020. This effort is designed to expand our engagement with the state government in three ways.

Lawmakers in both Washington, DC and Raleigh are back to work after the holiday break. The General Assembly started its long session on January 13th, when it decides the two-year state budget and key priorities, which are expected to include COVID relief, healthcare, broadband and transportation. Centralina has launched a new effort called Raleigh Relations to monitor legislation and strengthen relationships with the elected officials representing our region.

Washington is in the final stretch of the 116th Congress. Two items remain in negotiations that must be resolved before lawmakers can head home for the holidays – FY21 appropriations and coronavirus relief. Congress was forced to pass a one-week extension of the continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels through December 18. The measure aims to give policymakers more time to strike a deal on a comprehensive FY21 spending bill, which may include coronavirus relief funding provisions if a separate aide package cannot be agreed upon.