Title: Coronavirus Community Relief Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Coronavirus Community Relief Act
This bill provides $250 billion for certain localities affected by the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.
Specifically, the bill provides funding for FY2020 for units of local government with a population of 500,000 or less. Payment shall be made within 30 days after submission of a specified certification by the locality. The amount of the payment is proportional to the population.
Local governments shall use the funds provided to cover only those costs that (1) such governments reasonably deem to be necessary and related to the public health emergency caused by COVID-19, and (2) were incurred during the period of March 1-December 30, 2020.
If a unit of local government determines it will not expend all the funds paid by the end of that period, it may transfer the unexpended portion to another unit of local government in the state with a population of 500,000 or less, subject to specified requirements.
The Office of Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury shall conduct monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of funds.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3623 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3623

    To provide for an enhanced Coronavirus relief fund for units of 
    government with a population of 500,000 or less, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2020

Mr. Heinrich (for himself, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
Udall, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Warren, Ms. Cortez 
 Masto, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Harris, 
  Mr. Peters, and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill; which was 
       read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for an enhanced Coronavirus relief fund for units of 
    government with a population of 500,000 or less, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coronavirus Community Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND FOR UNITS OF GOVERNMENT WITH A 
              POPULATION OF 500,000 OR LESS.

    Title VI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) (as 
added by section 5001(a) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
Security Act (Public Law 116-136)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 602. CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND FOR UNITS OF GOVERNMENT WITH A 
              POPULATION OF 500,000 OR LESS.

    ``(a) Appropriation.--Out of any money in the Treasury of the 
United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated for 
making payments to units of local government with a population of 
500,000 or less, $250,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.
    ``(b) Authority To Make Payments.--The Secretary shall pay to a 
unit of local government the relative unit of local government 
population proportion amount determined for such government under 
subsection (c)(4) within 30 days after such government submits the 
certification required by subsection (e).
    ``(c) Payment Amounts.--
            ``(1) In general.--The maximum aggregate amount paid under 
        this section for fiscal year 2020 to units of local government 
        in a State shall not exceed the relative population proportion 
        amount determined for the State under paragraph (2) for such 
        fiscal year.
            ``(2) Relative population proportion amount.--For purposes 
        of paragraph (1), the relative population proportion amount 
        determined under this paragraph for a State for fiscal year 
        2020 is the product of--
                    ``(A) the amount appropriated under subsection (a) 
                for fiscal year 2020; and
                    ``(B) the relative State population proportion 
                determined under paragraph (3).
            ``(3) Relative state population proportion defined.--For 
        purposes of paragraph (2)(B), with respect to a State, the 
        relative State population proportion is the quotient of--
                    ``(A) the population of the State; and
                    ``(B) the total population of all States.
            ``(4) Relative unit of local government population 
        proportion amount.--For purposes of subsection (b), with 
        respect to a unit of local government, the relative unit of 
        local government population proportion amount is equal to the 
        product of--
                    ``(A) the relative population proportion amount 
                determined under paragraph (2) for the State in which 
                the unit of local government is located; and
                    ``(B) the quotient of--
                            ``(i) the population of the unit of local 
                        government; and
                            ``(ii) the sum of the population of all 
                        units of local government with a population of 
                        500,000 or less within the State that submit 
                        the certification required by subsection (e) by 
                        the deadline specified in that subsection.
            ``(5) Data.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        population of States and units of local governments shall be 
        determined based on the most recent year for which data are 
        available from the Bureau of the Census.
            ``(6) Other relief.--The payments made under this section 
        shall be in addition to, and shall not affect or reduce, 
        payments made to units of local government with a population 
        that exceeds 500,000 under section 601.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A unit of local government shall use the 
        funds provided under a payment made under this section to cover 
        only those costs of the unit of local government that--
                    ``(A) such government reasonably deems to be 
                necessary and directly or indirectly involve, relate 
                to, are, have been, or will be incurred due to, or are, 
                have been, or will be a response to circumstances 
                caused by, the public health emergency with respect to 
                the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); and
                    ``(B) were incurred during the period that begins 
                on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.
            ``(2) Authority to transfer funds.--If a unit of local 
        government determines it will not expend all of the funds paid 
        to the government under this section by the end of the period 
        described in paragraph (1)(B), the government may transfer the 
        unexpended portion of such funds to another unit of local 
        government in the State with a population of 500,000 or less. 
        Funds transferred under this paragraph--
                    ``(A) shall be used by the unit of local government 
                receiving such funds consistent with the requirements 
                of paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) shall be deemed to be a cost of the unit of 
                local government making the transfer.
    ``(e) Certification.--In order to receive a payment under this 
section, a unit of local government shall provide the Secretary with a 
certification signed by the Chief Executive (or equivalent) for the 
unit of local government that the local government's uses of the funds 
are or will be consistent with subsection (d) not later than 15 days 
after the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(f) Inspector General Oversight; Recoupment.--
            ``(1) Oversight authority.--The Inspector General of the 
        Department of the Treasury shall conduct monitoring and 
        oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of funds made 
        available under this section.
            ``(2) Recoupment.--If the Inspector General of the 
        Department of the Treasury determines that a unit of local 
        government has failed to comply with subsection (d), the amount 
        equal to the amount of funds used in violation of such 
        subsection shall be booked as a debt of such entity owed to the 
        Federal Government. Amounts recovered under this subsection 
        shall be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury.
            ``(3) Authority of inspector general.--Nothing in this 
        subsection shall be construed to diminish the authority of any 
        Inspector General, including such authority as provided in the 
        Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
            ``(4) Funding.--Notwithstanding section 601(f)(3), the 
        Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury may use the 
        amounts appropriated under that section to carry out oversight 
        and recoupment activities under this section in addition to the 
        oversight and recoupment activities carried out under section 
        601(f).
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Costs.--The term `costs' includes, but is not limited 
        to, lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses incurred before 
        the date of enactment of this section, and increases in costs 
        reasonably believed to be the direct or indirect result of, or 
        direct or indirect responses to circumstances caused by, the 
        public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 
        2019 (COVID-19).
            ``(2) Local government.--The term `unit of local 
        government' means any of the following that has a population of 
        500,000 or below: a county, municipality, town, township, 
        village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government 
        below the State level.
            ``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Treasury.
            ``(4) State.--The term `State' means the 50 States, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.''.
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