BALTIMORE, Md. — “The pandemic is not going to end on December 30,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said on Monday. ““Congress needs to act now to ensure that state and local governments can continue to use CARES funding to protect their residents from the impacts of COVID-19.”
Frosh is not alone in his plea to our nation’s leaders. He joined a group of attorneys general from 43 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia o urge Congress to extend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economy (CARES) Act funding until the end of 2021.
Congress initially passed the CARES Act back in March. The legislation provided $2 trillion in funds to state and local governments in an attempt to offset the economic damage caused by COVID-19.
However, the money could only be used for expenses occurring through December 30 of this year. The attorneys general urged leaders to pass bipartisan extension measures in both the House and Senate.
In a letter addressing leaders, they said, “This time frame likely made sense in late March when the CARES Act was passed, but we have learned a great deal about COVID-19 in the past seven months,” the letter states. “Among other things, we know that the pandemic will continue to challenge communities well beyond December 30, 2020 – a deadline that now seems unreasonable.”