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Clawing back unspent COVID funds might contribute to a debt ceiling solution — but not much

May 15, 2023
The exact amount left from pandemic spending bills could be as little as $30 billion — a fraction of this year’s federal deficit.
Congress passed six COVID spending bills totaling $4.6 trillion, according to the Government Accountability Office. But most of that money is already gone.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Were last year's state payments taxable? Taxpayers wait while the IRS decides.

Feb 9, 2023
It's will depend on why the payments were made and who got them.
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. Even though tax season is upon us, the agency hasn't yet ruled whether special payments from states will be exempt.
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

On tribal lands, broadband access remains a struggle

Aug 10, 2022
More funding for internet access has been made available during the COVID-19 pandemic, but coordination and permitting are still hurdles.
While a lot of schools, workplaces and medical clinics moved their operations online during the pandemic, many Native communities were left behind.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Air conditioning (or lack of it) can affect student performance

Jun 2, 2022
Some schools are using their COVID relief funds to upgrade heating and cooling systems, including installing air conditioning.
Roughly a third of schools report having a fair or poor heating, cooling or ventilation system, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That can impact learning.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Colleges get federal guidance on using COVID relief to support student mental health

May 19, 2022
The Department of Education provided ideas for using these funds, including text-based counseling and suicide-prevention training.
The Department of Education suggested how colleges can invest leftover COVID relief funds in  mental health care.
Sam Wasson/Getty Images

Banks are pushing more business loans. Some business owners aren’t sure they want them.

Apr 27, 2022
In the words of one business owner: "Why would I want to go into any type of expansion?"
Though commercial lending is starting to pick back up, some small businesses still have cash on hand from government relief programs.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Small businesses push back on plan to redirect COVID relief funds

Apr 19, 2022
The Biden administration, pressured to avoid new spending, may reallocate the money to pandemic health care needs.
Congress could reroute about $5 billion in COVID relief set aside for small business to pandemic-related health care needs.  
Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

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Most of the nearly 70,000 housing vouchers Congress authorized last year remain unused

Feb 14, 2022
The pandemic response program provided billions of dollars that were meant to help get unhoused people into permanent housing.
Dale Bonanno received an emergency housing voucher as part of a pandemic program designed to move unhoused people into more permanent housing.
Gretchen Ertl

Nursing homes are in critical need of staff

Jan 11, 2022
Some nursing homes say they can't compete for workers, as fast-food places and other retailers have raised wages.
Ashley Rose (left) and Patsy Wilkerson (right) are occupational therapy assistant who work at Knollwood Manor in Lafayette, Tennessee. They joke that they’re also certified nursing assistant assistants because the nursing home is so short on CNAs they end up picking up many of their duties.
Blake Farmer/WPLN

What might the extended pause on federal student loan repayment mean for borrowers?

Dec 23, 2021
The Biden administration says there are more than 40 million people with outstanding student loan debt.
The Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's loan forgiveness plan, but the Biden administration has announced some remedies that will provide some borrowers with relief.
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