Bill Summary
The Direct Support for Communities Act is a bill that provides additional funding to cities, counties, and other local government units to help prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. This funding is in addition to any other funds already available and will be distributed through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Fund. 50% of the funds will go to metropolitan cities and other local governments, while the other 50% will go directly to counties and parishes of states, as well as other territories. These funds can be used to supplement lost revenues due to the pandemic and must be used to supplement, not replace, any non-federal funds provided by the state or jurisdiction. There are no specific restrictions on how these funds can be used, and the population of each entity will determine the amount of funding they receive. This bill also designates the funding as an emergency requirement.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could provide financial relief for cities, counties, and other units of general local government to address the coronavirus pandemic. This could directly benefit people living in these areas by providing resources for prevention, preparation, and response efforts.
2. The legislation could also impact the distribution of funds to different jurisdictions. For example, 50% of the funds would go directly to counties and parishes, while the other 50% would be allocated to metropolitan cities and other units of general local government. This could lead to disparities in funding for different areas, potentially affecting the ability of some communities to effectively combat the pandemic.
3. The bill also allows for flexibility in how the funds can be used, such as covering lost revenues due to the pandemic. This could benefit people in various ways, such as allowing local governments to continue providing essential services or offering financial assistance to individuals or businesses affected by the pandemic. However, there may also be concerns about how the funds are prioritized and used, which could affect certain groups of people disproportionately.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6748 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6748
To provide funding for cities, counties, and other units of general
local government to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2020
Mr. Delgado (for himself and Mr. Zeldin) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition
to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide funding for cities, counties, and other units of general
local government to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
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 ``Direct Support for Communities
Act''.
SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS.
The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2020, and for other purposes, namely:
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Community Planning and Development
community development fund
For an additional amount for the ``Community Development Fund'',
such sums as may be necessary, to remain available until expended, to
prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, which shall be in
addition to any other amounts available for such purposes, of which--
(1) 50 percent shall be allocated to metropolitan cities
and other units of general local government (as those terms are
defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)), of which--
(A) 70 percent of such sums shall be distributed,
not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, pursuant to the formula under section
106(b)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(b)(1)) to metropolitan cities
that received allocations pursuant to such formula in
fiscal year 2019; and
(B) 30 percent of such sums shall be distributed,
not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, to States (as defined in such section 102)
for use by units of general local government, other
than counties or parishes, in nonentitlement areas (as
defined in such section 102) of the State, in amounts
equal to the relative sum of the populations of such
units of general local government in a State as a
proportion of the total population of all such units of
general local government in all States: Provided, That
a State shall pass-through the amounts received under
this subparagraph within 30 days of receipt to such
units of general local government: Provided further,
That if a State has not elected to distribute amounts
allocated under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5306(d)(1)), the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall distribute the applicable amounts
under this subparagraph to such units of general local
government in the State not later than 30 days after
the date on which the State would otherwise have
received the amounts from the Secretary; and
(2) 50 percent shall be distributed, not later than 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, directly to counties
and parishes of 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, in amounts equal to the relative sum of the
populations of the counties and parishes in a State or such
other jurisdiction as a proportion of the total population of
all the counties and parishes in all States and such other
jurisdictions: Provided, That in calculating the populations
of counties and parishes for purposes of this paragraph, the
District of Columbia shall be treated as a county: Provided
further, That no county or parish that is an urban county (as
defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)) shall receive less than the
amount the county or parish would otherwise receive if the
amount distributed under this paragraph were allocated to
metropolitan cities and urban counties under section 106(b) of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5306(b)): Provided further, That the amounts otherwise
determined for counties and parishes under this paragraph shall
be adjusted on a pro rata basis to the extent necessary to
comply with the preceding proviso: Provided further, That the
District of Columbia may spend the amount received under this
paragraph as if it were a county: Provided further, That in
the case of an amount allocated to a county or parish that does
not have a governing body, the amount shall be distributed to
the State or such other jurisdiction of the county or parish
which, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, shall distribute the amount to units of general local
government within the county or parish in amounts equal to the
relative population of each such unit of general local
government as a proportion of the total population of the
county or parish;
Provided further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law,
funds made available under this heading may be used to cover costs, or
to replace lost, delayed, or decreased revenues, stemming from the
public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-
19), including revenues lost, delayed, or decreased during or after the
end of such public health emergency as a result of the global and
national economic decline caused by the outbreak and response to COVID-
19: Provided further, That amounts distributed under paragraph (1) or
(2) shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, any non-Federal
funds that a State or such other jurisdiction would otherwise provide
to cities, counties, parishes, or other units of general local
government of the State or other jurisdiction: Provided further, That
nothing in paragraph (1) or (2) shall be construed as prohibiting a
metropolitan city and a county or parish that have formed a
consolidated government from each receiving a distribution under
paragraph (1) or (2), as applicable: Provided further, That for
purposes of this heading, the population of an entity shall be
determined based on the most recent year for which data are available
from the Bureau of the Census: Provided further, That, except as
provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), no requirement or limitation
applicable to funds provided under title I of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) shall apply to funds
made available under this heading and distributed under such
paragraphs: Provided further, That such amount is designated by
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985.
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