The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of August 13, 2021.
State Legislature Decides on Funds, Addresses Needs
On August 10, the General Assembly completed work in a special session to appropriate federal pandemic funds and elect judges.
In March, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA brought $4.3 billion in unexpected funds to Virginia but required it to be invested in specific areas such as water, sewer and broadband infrastructure to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, address pandemic impacts and provide government services suffering from revenue reductions because of the pandemic. Unlike other counties, Fairfax County received $222 million in direct ARPA funding with similar requirements.
