26786 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 93 / Monday, May 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY over 32 million and killed over 575,000 COVID–19, including testing, contact Americans.1 The disease has impacted tracing, isolation and quarantine, public 31 CFR Part 35 every part of life: As social distancing communications, issuance and RIN 1505–AC77 became a necessity, businesses closed, enforcement of health orders, schools transitioned to remote expansions to health system capacity Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal education, travel was sharply reduced, like alternative care facilities, and in Recovery Funds and millions of Americans lost their recent months, a massive nationwide jobs. In April 2020, the national mobilization around vaccinations. AGENCY: Department of the Treasury. unemployment rate reached its highest Governments also have supported major ACTION: Interim final rule. level in over seventy years following the efforts to prevent COVID–19 spread most severe month-over-month decline through safety measures in settings like SUMMARY: The Secretary of the Treasury in employment on record.2 As of April nursing homes, schools, congregate (Treasury) is issuing this interim final 2021, there were still 8.2 million fewer living settings, dense worksites, rule to implement the Coronavirus State jobs than before the pandemic.3 During incarceration settings, and public Fiscal Recovery Fund and the this time, a significant share of facilities. The pandemic’s impacts on Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund households have faced food and behavioral health, including the toll of established under the American Rescue housing insecurity.4 Economic pandemic-related stress, have increased Plan Act. disruptions impaired the flow of credit the need for behavioral health resources. DATES: Effective date: The provisions in to households, State and local At the same time, State, local and this interim final rule are effective May governments, and businesses of all Tribal governments launched major 17, 2021. sizes.5 As businesses weathered efforts to address the economic impacts Comment date: Comments must be closures and sharp declines in revenue, of the pandemic. These efforts have received on or before July 16, 2021. many were forced to shut down, been tailored to the needs of their ADDRESSES: Please submit comments especially small businesses.6 communities and have included electronically through the Federal Amid this once-in-a-century crisis, expanded assistance to unemployed eRulemaking Portal: http:// State, territorial, Tribal, and local workers; food assistance; rent, mortgage, www.regulations.gov. Comments can be governments (State, local, and Tribal and utility support; cash assistance; mailed to the Office of the governments) have been called on to internet access programs; expanded Undersecretary for Domestic Finance, respond at an immense scale. services to support individuals Department of the Treasury, 1500 Governments have faced myriad needs experiencing homelessness; support for Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, to prevent and address the spread of individuals with disabilities and older DC 20220. Because postal mail may be adults; and assistance to small subject to processing delay, it is 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, businesses facing closures or revenue recommended that comments be COVID Data Tracker, http://www.covid.cdc.gov/ loss or implementing new safety covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home (last visited submitted electronically. All comments May 8, 2021). measures. should be captions with ‘‘Coronavirus 2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment In responding to the public health State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Rate [UNRATE], retrieved from FRED, Federal emergency and its negative economic Interim Final Rule Comments.’’ Please Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https:// impacts, State, local, and Tribal fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE, May 3, 2021. governments have seen substantial include your name, organization U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Level affiliation, address, email address and [LNU02000000], retrieved from FRED, Federal increases in costs to provide these telephone number in your comment. Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https:// services, often amid substantial declines Where appropriate, a comment should fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU02000000, May 3, in revenue due to the economic 2021. downturn and changing economic include a short executive summary. 3 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees, 7 In general, comments received will be Total Nonfarm [PAYEMS], retrieved from FRED, patterns during the pandemic. Facing posted on http://www.regulations.gov Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https:// these budget challenges, many State, without change, including any business fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PAYEMS, May 7, 2021. local, and Tribal governments have been or personal information provided. 4 Nirmita Panchal et al., The Implications of forced to make cuts to services or their Comments received, including COVID–19 for Mental Health and Substance Abuse workforces, or delay critical (Feb. 10, 2021), https://www.kff.org/coronavirus- attachments and other supporting covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19- investments. From February to May of materials, will be part of the public for-mental-health-and-substance-use/#:∼:text= 2020, State, local, and Tribal record and subject to public disclosure. Older%20adults%20are%20also%20 governments reduced their workforces Do not enclose any information in your more,prior%20to%20the%20current%20crisis; U.S. by more than 1.5 million jobs and, in Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey: comment or supporting materials that Measuring Social and Economic Impacts during the April of 2021, State, local, and Tribal you consider confidential or Coronavirus Pandemic, https://www.census.gov/ government employment remained inappropriate for public disclosure. programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey.html nearly 1.3 million jobs below pre- (last visited Apr. 26, 2021); Rebecca T. Leeb et al., pandemic levels.8 These cuts to State, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Katharine Richards, Senior Advisor, Visits Among Children Aged <18 Years During the local, and Tribal government workforces Office of Recovery Programs, COVID Pandemic—United States, January 1— Department of the Treasury, (844) 529– October 17, 2020, Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 7 Michael Leachman, House Budget Bill Provides 69(45):1675–80 (Nov. 13, 2020), https:// Needed Fiscal Aid for States, Localities, Tribal 9527. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/ Nations, and Territories (Feb. 10, 2021), https:// SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: mm6945a3.htm. www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/ 5 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve house-budget-bill-provides-needed-fiscal-aid-for- I. Background Information System, Monetary Policy Report (June 12, 2020), states-localities. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/ 8 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees, A. Overview 2020-06-mpr-summary.htm. State Government [CES9092000001] and All Since the first case of coronavirus 6 Joseph R. Biden, Remarks by President Biden on Employees, Local Government [CES9093000001], Helping Small Businesses (Feb. 22, 2021), https:// retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. disease 2019 (COVID–19) was www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches- Louis, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ discovered in the United States in remarks/2021/02/22/remarks-by-president-biden- CES9092000001 and https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ January 2020, the disease has infected on-helping-small-businesses/. series/CES9093000001 (last visited May 8, 2021). VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:28 May 14, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\17MYR2.SGM 17MYR2 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 93 / Monday, May 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 26787 come at a time when demand for also has reversed many gains made by Through the Fiscal Recovery Funds, government services is high, with State, communities of color in the prior Congress provided State, local, and local, and Tribal governments on the economic expansion.15 Tribal governments with significant frontlines of fighting the pandemic. resources to respond to the COVID–19 B. The Statute and Interim Final Rule Furthermore, State, local, and Tribal public health emergency and its government austerity measures can On March 11, 2021, the American economic impacts through four hamper overall economic growth, as Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into categories of eligible uses. Section 602 occurred in the recovery from the Great law by the President.16 Section 9901 of and section 603 contain the same Recession.9 ARPA amended Title VI of the Social eligible uses; the primary difference Finally, although the pandemic’s Security Act 17 (the Act) to add section between the two sections is that section impacts have been widespread, both the 602, which establishes the Coronavirus 602 establishes a fund for States, public health and economic impacts of State Fiscal Recovery Fund, and section territories, and Tribal governments and the pandemic have fallen most severely 603, which establishes the Coronavirus section 603 establishes a fund for on communities and populations Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (together, metropolitan cities, nonentitlement disadvantaged before it began. Low- the Fiscal Recovery Funds).18 The Fiscal units of local government, and counties. income communities, people of color, Recovery