Policy Has Been A Top Bipartisan Priority for U.S. Conference of Mayors
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, under Majority Leader Charles Schumer’s leadership, the United States Senate passed the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act. The bipartisan legislation would allow cities, states, and other local governments to allocate resources from the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act for additional purposes that have been disallowed previously, such as infrastructure and community development projects. Now with House passage and Speaker Pelosi’s leadership of the omnibus, this provision will be part of the funding package sent to President Biden for his signature. America’s Mayors have long urged lawmakers to provide this flexibility so that cities can decide where resources are most useful. Following passage, U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran released the following statement:
“American cities have been critical to our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and have proven to be responsible partners with the federal government. With this added flexibility, cities can more aggressively work to rebuild and devote resources to priorities like infrastructure and natural disaster recovery. We want to thank Senators Cornyn and Padilla as well as Reps. Johnson and Bordeaux for their bipartisan leadership to deliver for America’s cities. Mayors look forward to continuing to responsibly implement these funds and are grateful that our colleagues at the federal level heard our call.”