(From State Auditor Nicole Galloway)State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released reports showing that through January the state of Missouri has spent $376.3 million of the $1.82 billion received under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act for COVID-19 recovery efforts.
The reports from the State Auditor's Office to track spending of ARP funds, which Missouri began receiving in May 2021, are in addition to monthly reports on CARES Act funding to the state.
The ARP Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in March 2021. The funding received by or made available to Missouri state government agencies helps pay for the state's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. ARP funding includes state and local recovery aid, funding for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education, and funding for various other assistance and benefit programs.
In December 2021 and January 2022, the state spent $31.6 million from federal ARP Act assistance, including approximately $27.4 million for home and community-based services under Medicaid. The ARP Act makes available a two-year 5% increase in federal funding because Missouri implemented Medicaid expansion, and also provided temporary enhanced federal matching funds for other Medicaid programs administered by MO HealthNet.
The December and January spending of ARP Act funds also includes disbursement of approximately $1.07 million to local governments from the Coronavirus Local Government Fiscal Recovery Fund. Approximately $222 million has been disbursed from this fund through the end of January. Since May 2021, approximately $1.34 billion has been received for the Coronavirus State Government Fiscal Recovery Fund, but has not been appropriated by the legislature as of Jan. 31.
The ARP Act also makes available more than $2 billion for distribution to Missouri's K-12 and higher education institutions. While none of this funding has been accessed to date, it is available until September 30, 2023.
The most recent reports on ARP spending are part of Auditor Galloway's ongoing review to help ensure accountability for the billions of federal dollars coming into Missouri for COVID-19 response and recovery. Since June 2020, the State Auditor's Office has released monthly reports on the $5 billion Missouri has received to date through the CARES Act and other federal programs for COVID-19 response efforts.
The complete Federal ARP Act Funding for COVID-19 Recovery report for December can be found here. The report for January can be found here.
The most recent of the CARES Act reports from Auditor Galloway are here and here.
No comments:
Post a Comment