Laserfiche WebLink
labor force, or unable to pay their bills, with this pain particularly acute among lower -income <br />Americans and communities of color. Again, moving forward, state, local, and Tribal <br />governments will remain on the frontlines of the economic response and rebuilding a stronger <br />economy in the aftermath of the pandemic. <br />However, as state, local, and Tribal governments continue to face substantial needs to <br />respond to public health and economic conditions, they have also experienced severe impacts <br />from the pandemic and resulting recession. State, local, and Tribal governments cut over 1.5 <br />million jobs in the early months of the pandemic amid sharp declines in revenue and remain over <br />950,000 jobs below their pre -pandemic levels.10 As the Great Recession demonstrated, austerity <br />among state, local, and Tribal governments can hamper overall economic growth and severely <br />curtail the ability of governments to serve their constituents. <br />Recognizing these imperatives, the SLFRF program provides vital resources for state, <br />local, and Tribal governments to respond to the pandemic and its economic effects and to replace <br />revenue lost due to the public health emergency, preventing cuts to government services. <br />Specifically, the ARPA provides that SLFRF funds" may be used: <br />a) To respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including <br />assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries <br />such as tourism, travel, and hospitality; <br />10 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees, State Government [CES9092000001] and All Employees, Local <br />Government [CES9093000001], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, <br />https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES9092000001 and https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES9093000001 (last visited <br />December 7, 2021). <br />11 The ARPA adds section 602 of the Social Security Act, which creates the State Fiscal Recovery Fund, and section <br />603 of the Social Security Act, which creates the Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (together, SLFRF). Sections 602 and <br />603 contain substantially similar eligible uses; the primary difference between the two sections is that section 602 <br />establishes a fund for states, territories, and Tribal governments and section 603 establishes a fund for metropolitan <br />cities, nonentitlement units of local government, and counties. <br />4 <br />