Posted on December 2, 2020December 1, 2020

Attorneys General urge Congress to pass extension for CARES Act funding as pandemic impacts economy

Attorney General Edward Manibusan has joined a coalition of attorneys general representing 43 states, the District of Columbia and 4 other U.S. territories, urging Congress to extend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economy (CARES) Act funding until the end of 2021.

The effort is being led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who wrote the letter signed by the attorneys general and sent it to Congress today urging members to extend the December 30, 2020, deadline.

“As a direct beneficiary of the CARES Act funding, the CNMI is set to give up any remaining subsidy under the CARES Act at the end of the year,” says Attorney General Manibusan. He continues, “to further support the CNMI, I join my colleagues of attorneys general urging U.S. Congress to extend the CARES Act deadline in order to fully expend the relief funding aiding the CNMI during these unprecedented times.”

COVID-19 has negatively impacted nearly every facet of American society. In anticipation of unprecedented costs and economic disruption stemming from the pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act in March. The move provided more than $2 trillion in economic stimulus to state and local governments in an effort to combat the impacts of the pandemic.

One of the restrictions placed on the funding, however, limits the money’s use to expenses incurred between March 1, 2020, and December 30, 2020.

As the pandemic continues to set record infections, states and local communities will continue to incur COVID- related beyond 2020. By extending the deadline, communities nationwide will be able to be more strategic with the use of CARES Act funds, the attorneys general stated in their letter to Congress.