Horsford Discusses COVID Relief Funding For Rurals

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

Congressman Steven Horsford made a brief stop in Mesquite on Monday, March 29 and met with a small group of local leaders at Mesquite City Hall. The meeting was informal and was not open to the public or to the press. But in an interview last week with The Progress, Horsford reviewed the message that he had brought to City leaders that day.

The subject of Horsford’s meeting had been the American Rescue Plan legislation, a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill passed by Congress in early March.

The Nevada delegation in Congress had worked hard to bring relief to struggling workers and families in the state through this bill, Horsford said. More than $5 billion was funnelled to the state of Nevada: $4 billion was allocated to prop up municipal and county governments; and another $1 billion was to help the state’s K-12 public education system.

In coming to Mesquite, Horsford said he wanted to make sure that rural areas of his district knew about the bill; what was in it, and how it can help the rural residents of his district.

“In addressing this once-in-a-generation pandemic –that had such a major impact on our economy – the issue was never about going too big with this relief bill,” Horsford said in last week’s interview. “The danger was in going too small. So we passed this bill which had overwhelming support among Americans: 85 percent of the general public supported it.”

Horsford said that he was able to secure more than $17 million in relief funding for the City of Mesquite alone. This money is to help the City weather the economic storm of the past year and stay functioning despite reduced revenues.
“Let’s face it, local governments have been on the frontlines of fighting this pandemic,” Horsford said.

“They have had to mobilize resources: public safety, law enforcement, fire department, health district – all of these efforts have been largely paid for out of city resources. The funding from this bill will help cover those additional costs.”

In addition, the funds can be used to cover lost revenues that the City may have missed because of the decline in hospitality and tourism and other economic impacts of COVID, Horsford said. “The City can use this funding to help shore up its budget until they can get back on track,” he said.

In the interview, Horsford added that some funding should also be directed to help the Moapa Valley community as well. But because Moapa and Moapa Valley townships are unincorporated the funds must take a more circuitous route to get to those communities, he said.

Clark County received $439 million in the bill as its direct allocation for these purposes. The County would then determine what portion of that funding is needed to shore up the local economies, Horsford said.

“I know that Commissioner (Marilyn) Kirkpatrick represents that area and so those will be priorities that she will help to identify at the county level,” Horsford said.

Significant funding was also allocated in the bill to set aright the state’s reeling public education system. The bill allocates a total of $835,403,000 to the Clark County School District (CCSD) alone. Another $129 million was divided among the other 16 school districts in the state.
“It is a lot of money,” Horsford said. “So when we say that help is here, we mean it.”

The legislation requires that at least 20 percent of that funding must be spent on addressing learning loss and equity issues, including the equity impacts to rural communities.

“There is specific language in the federal bill that requires them to look at equity,” Horsford said. “So a rural community that may be underserved: perhaps it is in broadband access, or in transportation, or maybe they have a limited number of specialists in a school and need more to offset learning loss.

Whatever it is those schools need, that is where they should be funded. This funding is meant to overcome those kinds of equity challenges in those areas.”

Horsford explained that the CCSD is required to submit a plan to the State Superintendent for Instruction on the proposed expenditure of the funds by mid-May. He added that he would be reviewing that plan to see that the requirements had been met in filling those on-site needs.

“I have been meeting with groups of school principals in my district to listen to what their concerns and issues are,” Horsford said. “I am confident that they know best what they need in their local school environment. So my hope and expectation is that when (CCSD) writes its plan, they write it in line with how it will meet the needs of every student in every school.”

In addition to propping up school systems and municipal governments, Horsford points out that the bill also contains a long list of items meant to help individuals and families directly. Chief among these was a stimulus check in the amount of $1,400 per person, that nearly every taxpayer received. In addition, an extension was granted in funding unemployment payments, child tax credits, rental assistance and mortgage help to keep struggling families solvent and in their homes.

“This is real help to provide relief to real Nevada families who have struggled from the pandemic as well as the downturn in the economy,” Horsford said.

The Congressman had strong words for conservative members of Congress who did not vote for the bill due to concerns about overspending and the national debt. “Look, when the Republicans were in charge in 2017, they passed a $1.9 trillion tax cut and they didn’t pay for it,” Horsford said. “So anyone who argues now about how are we paying to provide housing assistance, or nutrition, or extended unemployment, or childcare, or funding for essential workers – my question is: Where were they when the Republicans passed the tax cut that only benefitted the very wealthy and the big corporations, and didn’t pay for it?”

Horsford said that his support for the American Rescue Plan bill was simply doing his job in delivering for his constituents in Nevada.

“I certainly wasn’t going to NOT get money, when Nevada is the second highest unemployment state in the country!” Horsford concluded. “Our folks need help! They need help in Mesquite, in Moapa Valley and throughout every other corner of my district. My job is to get them that help. And fortunately, now, help is here.”