Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Need for Regulatory Action This final rule implements the $350 billion SLFRF program of the ARPA, which Congress passed to help states, territories, Tribal governments, and localities respond to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency and its economic impacts. As the agency charged with execution of these programs, Treasury has concluded that this final rule is needed to ensure that recipients of SLFRF funds fully understand the requirements and parameters of the program as set forth in the statute and deploy funds in a manner that best reflects Congress' mandate for targeted fiscal relief. This final rule governs the use of $350 billion in grant funds from the federal government to states, territories, Tribal governments, and localities, generating a significant macroeconomic effect on the U.S. economy. Treasury has sought to implement the program in ways that maximize its potential benefits while minimizing its costs. It has done so by: aiming to target relief in key areas according to the congressional mandate; offering clarity to states, territories, Tribal governments, and localities while maintaining their flexibility to respond to local needs; and limiting administrative burdens. Analysis of Benefits Relative to a pre -statutory baseline, the SLFRF funds provide a combined $350 billion to state, local, and Tribal governments for fiscal relief and support for costs incurred responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury believes that this transfer will generate substantial additional economic activity, although given the flexibility accorded to recipients in the use of funds, it is not possible to precisely estimate the extent to which this will occur and the timing with which it will occur. Economic research has demonstrated that state fiscal relief is an efficient and 381