Rep. Delgado expects $400M for 19th District governments
U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado says local governments in New York’s 19th Congressional District could benefit from more than $400 million in direct federal aid as part of the COVID-19 relief bill making its way through Congress.
The House voted last week to pass the American Rescue Plan, which included a provision introduced by Delgado, DRhinebeck, that would deliver $130.2 billion to local governments across the United States, his office said. That formula would result in more than $400 million for local governments in his 11-county congressional district.
The bill still must be voted on by the Senate.
Ulster County would receive $34 million, Dutchess County would get $57 million, and the city of Kingston could draw up to $19 million, Delgado said.
“For an entire year, local officials across New York’s 19th Congressional District have worked around the clock to protect their communities without a dime of direct federal relief,” Delgado said in a statement. “I am honored and humbled to have worked to secure an estimated $400 million in direct funding for our counties, towns, and villages in NY-19 via the House-passed American Rescue Plan. The Senate must pass this legislation with my local government funding formula to deliver long-overdue relief.”
Delgado held an online roundtable with upstate officials Wednesday morning to discuss the funding. During the roundtable, his office said, the congressman answered questions about funding timelines, allowable uses for the money, and potential restrictions on aid.
According to Delgado’s local government funding formula, eligible uses of the money include responding to and mitigating the public health emergency; covering costs incurred as a result of the public health emergency; replacing revenue that was lost, delayed or decreased due to the public health emergency; and addressing the negative economic impacts of the public health emergency.
The $130.2 billion would be divided evenly between cities and counties, with $65.1 billion delivered to cities using a modified Community Development Block Grant formula, according to Delgado’s office. The other $65.1 billion would go to counties based on their populations.