How to Make the Most of Our Federal Relief Funds
The focus now must be on stabilization and long-term recovery.
By Jill Tokuda
Last August when we were in the midst of a second lockdown due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, I wrote about the urgency for our state to spend over half a billion dollars in CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds by the end of 2020 and how much federal money Hawai‘i had received to respond to the pandemic.
Through the CARES Act and other federal enactments and awards, Hawai‘i has now received nearly $18 billion, and this amount continues to increase as allocations and awards are released. To put that into perspective, the entire state general fund budget for the coming fiscal year is $15.9 billion.
Nearly $7 billion of that federal money has gone directly to individual Hawai‘i residents, largely in the form of economic impact “stimulus” payments (our $1,400 checks) and federal unemployment “plus up” payments (which supplemented the amounts of unemployment benefits).
Small businesses and larger industries have received $4 billion, with much of that money coming through the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and other payroll and industry support programs.
Of the total $18 billion and counting, over $5 billion comes from the most recent American Recovery Plan Act, which includes $2.2 billion in state and local aid to deal with revenue shortfalls and respond to COVID impacts.
Hawai‘i received over $7 billion through the CARES Act, with $1.25 billion coming in the form of state and local aid to deal with COVID-related costs and impacts that originally had to be spent down by the end of 2020 or risk being returned to the federal government.
It is often said that our values are reflected in what we budget, what we spend our money on. The COVID-19 pandemic has been the ultimate test of that well-known adage. With overwhelming need in every corner of our communities and each sector of our economy, there was no shortage of what to fund — but with so little time, the challenge was how to get the funds out quickly to those who needed them most.
To continue reading, please visit Honolulu Civil Beat where this article was originally published.
