The Treasury Clarifies Eligible Uses for the Coronavirus Relief Fund
The Treasury issued new FAQs with clarifications on permissible uses of the Coronavirus Relief Fund, indicating that funds may be used to: – Satisfy non-federal matching requirements under the Stafford Act; – Distribute payments to non-profits for distribution to individuals in need of financial assistance; – Provide assistance to farmers and meat processors to expand capacity provided that these payments are determined to be a necessary expenditure attributable to the public health emergency; and – Cover the entire payroll of a public safety, public health, health care, human services, or similar employee whose services are substantially dedicated to responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The FAQs also clarified that governments must structure all programs in a manner to ensure assistance is determined necessary in response to the public health emergency—for example, per capita payments to residents of a particular jurisdiction without an assessment of individual need would NOT be considered an appropriate use of the Fund.