Data Stories

In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act provided $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. In November, 2022, SBA announced that it was distributing $83 million in unobligated RRF money to 169 restaurant operators who had pending RRF applications.

The American Rescue Plan provided $20 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funding (SLFRF) to assist Tribal governments, communities, businesses, and households. In November 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tribal and Native Affairs released a report highlighting some of the 3,000 projects that Tribes have funded with SLFRF money. The projects are focusing on improving the Tribes’ health, safety, and quality of life. The report noted that more than 2.7 million individuals from 579 Tribes have benefited. Tribes that received less than $30 million from SLFRF are only...

The $10 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) is providing financial help to homeowners who missed mortgage, home insurance, and utility bill payments after January 21, 2020. Recently, Treasury released data on the race, gender, ethnicity, and income of the 94,310 approved applicants out of the 399,276 applicants. The quarterly reporting by the states, District of Columbia, Tribes, and U.S. Territories shows that they have obligated about 10% of the funding. They have until September 30, 2026, to use all the funding to benefit homeowners.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) provided $28.5 billion in Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants to 100,700 restaurants and similar businesses to help keep their doors open. Recipients are not required to repay the grant money as long as they spend it for approved uses no later than March 11, 2023.

Some of the larger federal pandemic relief programs, like the Education Stabilization Fund, were created to help schools and students. But state and local governments have also used State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) money to support education projects.

Millions of Americans were out of work during the pandemic, especially in its earliest days. In April 2020, the unemployment rate hit 15 percent. To help people who were unemployed, Congress passed three unemployment assistance programs. Two of the programs increased existing benefits, while the other expanded benefits to people like self-employed and gig workers, who typically aren’t eligible. As of April, 2022, approximately $664 billion had gone out to the states. See how much unemployment insurance your state received.

The spread and uncertainty of the pandemic increased stress and anxiety for many veterans, especially for those who experienced homelessness or mental health issues, such as PTSD. To help, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) received $34.4 billion, much of which was aimed at assisting states, nonprofits, and other organizations build nursing homes and facilities for veterans facing homelessness.

Local governments have received a total of $350 billion from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to support pandemic efforts – that’s a lot of money. We've built new maps to help you explore the spending from this huge program in your city, county, and town.

Recipients of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) first reported on how they were spending the money in January 2022. Reporting took place a second time in April 2022. Here we look at some of the key differences between the two reporting periods and how local governments are spending the money.

Organizations receiving contracts from the federal government are classified by types of industries based on the North American Industry Classification System. These categories allow the government to understand the kinds of businesses receiving federal contracts. For example, the Department Health and Human Services gave a contract for ventilators to Ventec Life Systems, Inc., which is classified in the “Surgical and medical instrument manufacturing” category. The Department of Education gave a COVID testing kits contract to Emed Labs, LLC, which is classified as “medical laboratories.”