State & Local Emergency Stabilization Fund Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 252 To amend title VI of the Social Security Act to provide additional funding for States, Tribal governments, and local communities due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) public health emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Mr. REED introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend title VI of the Social Security Act to provide additional funding for States, Tribal governments, and local communities due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) public health emergency, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State & Local Emer- 4 gency Stabilization Fund Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 252 IS SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF 1 FOR STATES, TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, AND 2 LOCAL COMMUNITIES. 3 Title VI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801 4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 602. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR CORONAVIRUS RE- 6 LIEF FOR STATES, TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, 7 AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES. 8 ‘‘(a) APPROPRIATION.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any money in the 10 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro- 11 priated, there are appropriated for making payments 12 under this section to States, Tribal governments, 13 and local communities described in subsection (c)(6), 14 $600,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. The amount 15 appropriated under this paragraph and paid in ac- 16 cordance with this section shall be in addition to the 17 amount appropriated under subsection (a) of section 18 601 and paid to States, Tribal governments, and 19 units of local government under that section. 20 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount 21 appropriated under paragraph (1), the Secretary 22 shall reserve— 23 ‘‘(A) $3,000,000,000 of such amount for 24 making payments to United States Virgin Is- 25 lands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the North- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 252 IS ern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa 1 under subsection (c)(7); 2 ‘‘(B) $10,000,000,000 of such amount for 3 making payments to Tribal governments under 4 subsection (c)(8); 5 ‘‘(C) $59,000,000,000 of such amount for 6 the portion of the payments made to the 50 7 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com- 8 monwealth of Puerto Rico that is determined 9 under subsection (c)(5); and 10 ‘‘(D) $205,000,000,000 of such amount 11 for making payments to local communities 12 under subsection (c)(6). 13 ‘‘(b) DEADLINE FOR PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 14 shall make the payments determined under subsection (c) 15 not later than 15 days after the date of enactment of this 16 section. 17 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 19 the amount paid under this section for fiscal year 20 2021 to a State that is 1 of the 50 States, the Dis- 21 trict of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto 22 Rico, shall be the sum of— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 252 IS ‘‘(A) the relative population proportion 1 amount determined for the State under para- 2 graph (3) for such fiscal year; and 3 ‘‘(B) the relative coronavirus infection rate 4 proportion amount determined for the State 5 under paragraph (5) for such fiscal year. 6 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM PAYMENT.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No State that is 1 of 8 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or the 9 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall receive a 10 payment under this section for fiscal year 2021 11 that is less than $5,000,000,000. 12 ‘‘(B) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENTS.—The Sec- 13 retary shall adjust on a pro rata basis the 14 amount of the payments for each of the 50 15 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com- 16 monwealth of Puerto Rico, determined under 17 this subsection without regard to this subpara- 18 graph to the extent necessary to comply with 19 the requirements of subparagraph (A). 20 ‘‘(3) RELATIVE POPULATION PROPORTION 21 AMOUNT.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the 22 relative population proportion amount determined 23 under this paragraph for a State for fiscal year 24 2021 is the product of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 252 IS ‘‘(A) the amount appropriated under sub- 1 section (a)(1) for fiscal year 2021 that remains 2 after the application of the reservations made 3 under subsection (a)(2); and 4 ‘‘(B) the relative State population propor- 5 tion (as defined in paragraph (4)) determined 6 for such fiscal year. 7 ‘‘(4) RELATIVE STATE POPULATION PROPOR- 8 TION DEFINED.—For purposes of paragraph (3)(B), 9 the term ‘relative State population proportion’ 10 means, with respect to each of the 50 States, the 11 District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 12 Puerto Rico, the quotient of— 13 ‘‘(A) the population of the State, District 14 of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 15 (as applicable); and 16 ‘‘(B) the sum of the populations of each of 17 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 19 ‘‘(5) RELATIVE CORONAVIRUS INFECTION RATE 20 PROPORTION AMOUNT.—For purposes of paragraph 21 (1)(B), the relative coronavirus infection rate pro- 22 portion amount determined under this paragraph for 23 each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 252 IS the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, for fiscal year 1 2021 is the product of— 2 ‘‘(A) the amount reserved under subsection 3 (a)(2)(C); and 4 ‘‘(B) the quotient of— 5 ‘‘(i) the coronavirus infection rate de- 6 termined for the State, District of Colum- 7 bia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (as 8 applicable); and 9 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the coronavirus infec- 10 tion rates determined for each of the 50 11 States, the District of Columbia, and the 12 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 13 ‘‘(6) PAYMENTS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount re- 15 served under subsection (a)(2)(D), the Sec- 16 retary shall pay— 17 ‘‘(i) 70 percent of the amount so re- 18 served directly to the metropolitan cities 19 and urban counties (as those terms are de- 20 fined in section 102 of the Housing and 21 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 22 U.S.C. 5302)) in the State that received 23 allocations under section 106(b) of the 24 Housing and Community Development Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 252 IS of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(b)) for fiscal year 1 2020, pursuant to the same formula used 2 to make such allocations under that section 3 for such fiscal year; and 4 ‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraph (C), 30 5 percent of the amount so reserved directly 6 to each of the 50 States, to be distributed 7 by such States upon receipt on a pass- 8 through basis, and without requiring any 9 application, to units of general local gov- 10 ernment in nonentitlement areas (as such 11 terms are defined in such section 102) in 12 such States, in amounts equal to the rel- 13 ative sum of the populations of such units 14 of general local government in each such 15 State as a proportion of the total popu- 16 lation of all such units of general local gov- 17 ernment in all of the 50 States. 18 ‘‘(B) UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN- 19 MENT IN NONENTITLEMENT AREAS WITH OVER- 20 LAPPING POPULATIONS OR CONSOLIDATED GOV- 21 ERNMENTS.—If 2 or more units of general local 22 government in nonentitlement areas have over- 23 lapping populations or have formed a consoli- 24 dated government— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 252 IS ‘‘(i) the aggregate population of the 1 overlapping units of general local govern- 2 ment or the aggregate population of such 3 consolidated government (as applicable) 4 shall be the population used for purposes 5 of determining the amount to be paid di- 6 rectly to a State under clause (ii) of sub- 7 paragraph (A); and 8 ‘‘(ii) the chief executive officer of the 9 State shall distribute the portion of such 10 payment that is based on such population 11 among the units of general local govern- 12 ment with such overlapping populations or 13 that are part of such consolidated govern- 14 ment, in amounts equal to the relative pop- 15 ulations of such units of general local gov- 16 ernment as a proportion of such payment 17 portion, unless— 18 ‘‘(I) the units of general local 19 government involved notify such chief 20 executive officer of their agreement 21 regarding how such payment portion 22 is to be distributed among them, 23 based on the aggregate population of 24 such units of general local govern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 252 IS ment, in which case such chief execu- 1 tive officer shall make distributions in 2 accordance with that agreement; or 3 ‘‘(II) in the case of a consoli- 4 dated government, the consolidated 5 government notifies such chief execu- 6 tive officer of a determination of the 7 consolidated government regarding 8 how such payment portion is to be 9 distributed among the units of local 10 government represented by the con- 11 solidated government, based on the 12 aggregate population of such units of 13 general local government, in which 14 case such chief executive officer shall 15 make distributions in accordance with 16 that determination. 17 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF STATES NOT ACTING 18 AS PASS-THROUGH AGENTS.—In the case of a 19 State that is 1 of the 50 States and that has 20 not elected to distribute amounts allocated 21 under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing and 22 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 23 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)), the Secretary shall act in 24 place of the State for purposes of determining 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 252 IS the amount of, and distributing on a pass- 1 through basis, and without requiring any appli- 2 cation, payments to units of general local gov- 3 ernment in nonentitlement areas in that State 4 under subparagraph (A)(ii). 5 ‘‘(7) PAYMENTS TO TERRITORIES.—The 6 amount paid under this section to the United States 7 Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 8 Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa, 9 shall be the amount equal to the product of— 10 ‘‘(A) the amount reserved under subsection 11 (a)(2)(A); and 12 ‘‘(B) each such territory’s share of the 13 combined total population of all such territories, 14 as determined by the Secretary. 15 ‘‘(8) PAYMENTS TO TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.— 16 The amounts paid under this section to Tribal gov- 17 ernments from the amount reserved under sub- 18 section (a)(2)(B) shall be determined in the same 19 manner as the amounts paid to Tribal governments 20 under section 601(c)(7), except that in determining 21 such amounts, the most recent number of enrolled 22 Tribal members or other appropriate measure may 23 be used. 24 ‘‘(9) DATA.—For purposes of determining— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 252 IS ‘‘(A) the population of each of the 50 1 States, the District of Columbia, the Common- 2 wealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 3 Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 4 Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, 5 and units of general local government, the Sec- 6 retary shall use the most recent year for which 7 data are available from the Bureau of the Cen- 8 sus; and 9 ‘‘(B) the relative coronavirus infection rate 10 proportion amounts under paragraph (5), the 11 Secretary shall use the most recent daily up- 12 dated data on the number of COVID–19 cases 13 published on the Internet by the Centers for 14 Disease Control and Prevention. 15 ‘‘(d) OTHER PROVISIONS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts paid under 17 this section shall be subject to— 18 ‘‘(A) the use of funds and oversight re- 19 quirements of subsections (d) and (f) of section 20 601 in the same manner as such requirements 21 apply to the amounts paid under that section; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 252 IS ‘‘(B) the definitions of each paragraph of 1 section 601(g) other than paragraph (2) of that 2 section. 3 ‘‘(2) IG FUNDING AUTHORITY.—Notwith- 4 standing section 601(f)(3), the Inspector General of 5 the Department of the Treasury may use the 6 amount appropriated under that section to carry out 7 oversight and recoupment activities under this sec- 8 tion in addition to the oversight and recoupment ac- 9 tivities carried out under section 601(f). 10 ‘‘(3) NONAPPLICATION.—Except as otherwise 11 provided in this section, the requirements applicable 12 to the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2020 13 under section 601(a)(1) (as added by section 5001 14 of Public Law 116–136) shall not apply to the 15 amount appropriated under subsection (a) of this 16 section for such fiscal year.’’. 17 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY TO USE PAYMENTS TO 18 MAKE UP REVENUE SHORTFALLS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 601 of 20 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 801) is amended to 21 read as follows: 22 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State, Tribal govern- 24 ment, and unit of local government may use the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S252.IS S252 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 252 IS funds provided under a payment made under this 1 section for any expenditures during the period that 2 begins on January 1, 2020, and ends on June 30, 3 2022— 4 ‘‘(A) to prevent, prepare for, or respond to 5 the public health emergency with respect to the 6 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–1 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]