Pascrell Announces Over $500 Million in Pandemic Recovery Funds for North Jersey

Federal haul will help local governments restore jobs, address pandemic’s economic fallout

PATERSON, NJ – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today announced the allocation of hundreds of millions in federal COVID-19 recovery funds for New Jersey’s Ninth Congressional District. The funds will be provided through the U.S. Treasury Department’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program. The program was created by the historic American Rescue Plan that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden to provide emergency funding for local governments as they grapple with budget gaps and recover from COVID-19.

“The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 have devastated our communities and bled local governments into bankruptcy. Continuing budget shortfalls are putting countless teachers, first responders, and other essential worker’s jobs in dire jeopardy. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden, billions of dollars of federal aid are available to keep our state and local governments alive,” said Rep. Pascrell, who helped pass the American Rescue Plan which established this recovery program. “Bold government action like this is a rejection of the dogma that only government by starvation works. It is proof positive that the government can – and will – do positive good in our lives. I am proud of it. As always, my office is here to help as these funds are allocated and we will remain in close contact with Treasury as the rollout of this and future programs continues.”

Breakdown of funds for New Jersey’s Ninth Congressional District:

Paterson: $64,668,166

City of Passaic: $31,131,607

Clifton: $30,531,115

Bergen County: $261,035,747

Hudson County: $130,604,069

Passaic County: $97,473,818

*Other NJ09 town allocations will be announced in the coming days.

The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program will provide substantial flexibility for each jurisdiction to meet local needs – including support for households, small businesses, impacted industries, essential workers, and the communities hardest-hit by the crisis. Within the categories of eligible uses listed, recipients have broad flexibility to decide how best to use this funding to meet the needs of their communities. In addition to allowing for flexible spending up to the level of their revenue loss, recipients can use funds to:

• Support public health expenditures, by – among other uses – funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, mental health and substance misuse treatment and certain public health and safety personnel responding to the crisis.

• Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including by rehiring public sector workers, providing aid to households facing food, housing or other financial insecurity, offering small business assistance, and extending support for industries hardest hit by the crisis.

• Aid the communities and populations hardest hit by the crisis, supporting an equitable recovery by addressing not only the immediate harms of the pandemic, but its exacerbation of longstanding public health, economic and educational disparities.

• Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service during the pandemic.

• Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, improving access to clean drinking water, supporting vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and expanding access to broadband internet.

Eligible states, cities, counties, Tribes, and territories can now request their funds from Treasury through the Treasury Submission Portal. For an overview of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program including an expanded use of eligible uses, see the fact sheet released today. For additional details on the state, local, territorial, and Tribal government allocations, see the full list here.

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