Letter to the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Hon. Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader - Rep. Buck Leads Colorado Legislators in Call to Ensure No County is Left Behind in the CARES Act

Letter

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader McConnell,

We write to urge you to ensure that the direct aid program authorized by Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to assist struggling state and local governments be made available to all counties, including those currently excluded by the bill's definition of a local government.

As part of the CARES Act, Congress established the Coronavirus Relief Fund, a direct aid program intended to assist state and local governments that have incurred unexpected expenditures directly related to battling COVID-19. However, under the program's statutory definition of a local government, only counties with more than 500,000 residents may access these direct aid dollars. This arbitrary definition leaves hundreds of counties nationwide, including 59 of the 64 counties across our home state of Colorado, ineligible to receive assistance through the program.

While the Coronavirus Relief Fund is well-intentioned, Congress should not be picking winners and losers in our nationwide recovery. In order to address the needs of smaller counties, municipalities, and other local governments during this unprecedented time, we respectfully request that you consider including language that ensures communities with fewer than 500,000 residents are able to receive necessary funding through this program.

Our nation is facing difficult times, and the American people are hurting. Congress must ensure that we are not leaving any counties behind, especially those with fewer than 500,000 residents, as we work to get the country back on its feet. As such, we urge you to reevaluate the statutory definition of a local government under the CARES Act in future coronavirus relief legislation to ensure our counties will be better equipped to respond to this crisis and protect the public's health and safety. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.