The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act — or CARES Act, was passed into Federal law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act was a $2 trillion stimulus bill aimed at helping the people, states and businesses devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Among other relief, the bill provided direct checks to many Americans, expanded unemployment insurance, offered loans to both small and large businesses, and provided additional resources to health-care providers and systems.
Through the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the CARES Act provided for payments to State, Local, and Tribal governments navigating the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The CARES Act required that the payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that:
- are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19);
- were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
- were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 31, 2022.
As of January 1, 2023, CARES Act funded projects either ceased or were absorbed into the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.
