Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general urging Congress to extend Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economy (CARES) Act funding through the end of next year.
The coalition, representing 43 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories, sent a letter to Congress on Monday.
The funding is currently set to expire Dec. 30, 2020.
“The CARES Act has provided needed financial support to our communities during this particularly difficult period in our nation’s history, and given the current status of the pandemic, that assistance will be needed well into the new year,” Nessel said. “As our country continues to face the challenges presented by COVID-19, we must make every effort to work together toward recovery, and Congress has the opportunity to do exactly that by extending this deadline.”
Several measures are currently pending in Congress, including bipartisan extension measures in both the House and Senate.
One of the restrictions placed on the CARES Act funding passed in March was that the fund’s expenses must be incurred between March 1, 2020 and Dec. 30, 2020.
“This time frame likely made sense in late March when the CARES Act was passed, but we have learned a great deal about COVID-19 in the past seven months,” the letter said. “Among other things, we know that the pandemic will continue to challenge communities well beyond Dec. 30, 2020 – a deadline that now seems unreasonable.”
