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CHARLESTON -- Once political allies, West Virginia's Democratic U.S. senator and the governor he supported in 2016 took shots at each other Friday over the pace of federal coronavirus relief dollars to local governments.
Sen. Joe Manchin announced Friday the introduction of a new bill aimed at putting political pressure on states to push relief funds to county and city governments, health departments and first responders.
The Local Government Relief Act would require states to distribute 45 percent of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds they've received for local governments under 500,000 in population by June 30, when the fiscal year ends for most governments. States unable to meet the deadline would be required to submit a report explaining why.
"Congress always intended the swift allocation of these funds so the relief could reach those who needed it the most," Manchin said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to quickly pass this common-sense legislation. Our local governments can't wait any longer."
Congress put $150 billion in the C.A.R.E.S. Act for state and local governments, with West Virginia receiving $1.25 billion. The funding can only be used for necessary coronavirus expenditures incurred during the emergency, expenses that were not already accounted for in state and local budgets and incurred after March 1 through the end of the year. Under Manchin's proposed bill, the state would have to dedicate $562.2 million to cities and counties for reimbursement.
As of Friday, state, county and city governments cannot use C.A.R.E.S. Act money for backfilling budget deficits caused by decreased tax revenue. Governments can use the funding for payroll expenses, such as hiring more health care workers or paying overtime, if the employees were working on coronavirus-related projects.
While he wasn't mentioned by name, Gov. Jim Justice was criticized for not working faster to push money out to local governments. West Virginia received its portion of C.A.R.E.S. Act funding in April, but didn't create a web portal for cities and counties to apply for funding until May 15. Since April, Justice has been lobbying President Donald Trump and the U.S. Treasury Department to let the state use a portion of the $1.25 billion for budget backfill so the state ends the fiscal year June 30 with a balanced budget as required by law.
"Nearly three months ago, Congress passed the C.A.R.E.S. Act, establishing the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund to serve as a lifeline for state and local governments who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic," Manchin said. "But the local governments in West Virginia haven't seen a penny of that money despite repeated requests by Congress to get the money out the door and repeated clarifications from the Treasury Department on how these funds should be used."
According to the governor's Office, 49 applications have been submitted to the state from city and county governments for C.A.R.E.S. Act funding. More than $2.6 million has been sent to cities and counties as of Friday, according to the Department of Revenue.
Applications for reimbursement for coronavirus expenses incurred between March 1 and April 30 are due Monday. The full list of rolling deadlines and guidelines can be found at grants.wv.gov.
Reading Manchin's statement aloud during his Friday afternoon coronavirus briefing, Justice said Manchin is wrong.
"This is just a political stunt. You just heard me say that we've sent $2.6 million dollars." Justice said, who received Manchin's press release a few minutes before Friday's briefing. "We are absolutely processing applications just as fast as we can. We're talking to the Municipal League. We're talking to the counties non-stop."
Justice said he is doing everything he can to push money out the door to local governments, accusing Manchin of playing politics instead of helping to remove red tape.
"This is more political junk," Justice said. "Congress, not the state of West Virginia, wrote the rules. They're the ones who came right out the get-go and said as clear as mud what you're exactly supposed to do. We have a fleet of lawyers a mile long and everybody in the world working on this to try to pump out this money as fast as we possibly can to everywhere."
Jennifer Piercy, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of West Virginia, said her organization continues to work directly with the governor's office and the state's congressional delegation on helping all 55 counties wade through all the U.S. Treasury requirements to receive funding.
"We have been in constant contact with the governor's office, Sen. Manchin's office and (U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore) Capito's office as well," Piercy said. "It is an ongoing conversation with all parties because of the C.A.R.E.S. Act guidelines and answering some questions in terms of interpretation. In addition, we are providing feedback from our members on the process."
Travis Blosser, executive director of West Virginia Municipal League, said the league, which represents 230 cities, towns and villages, has been in constant contact with Justice and his representatives. Blosser said he expects funding for cities with approved applications to go out soon, blaming much of the delay on wading through U.S. Treasury guidelines.
"Since the C.A.R.E.S. Act passed, we've been in touch with a multitude of folks over at the governor's office and have stayed in touch with those folks for months," Blosser said. "They, certainly as much as we do, have wanted to see this thing move faster than it has, but when Treasury's guidance has changed over the course of time, it's not always the most clear as most things that come from the federal government. It's been a work in progress to work through all of these components. We're appreciative of the congressional delegation, as well as the governor's office for the communication they've continued to have with us."
Earlier this week, the state received additional guidance from the Treasury Department to use C.A.R.E.S. Act funding for payroll reimbursements for public employees working during the coronavirus pandemic, such as police and firefighters. Blosser said his organization was advocating for the state to push the June 12 deadline back to allow governments to submit requests for reimbursements for those costs.
"We're making significant headway here lately on funding getting out the door," Blosser said. "I think at the end of this week, today, and going into next week substantial dollars are going to flow from that relief fund...out into cities, towns and villages across the state."