Porter statement on American Rescue Plan monies after State Budget Committee meeting

INDIANAPOLIS – State Representative Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) today released the following statement after the State Budget Committee met earlier this week providing an update on American Rescue Plan Act money.

The most recent Biden federal stimulus will allocate approximately $5.4 billion dollars to the state and $2.4 billion dollars to local government units. Since its enactment in March, Indiana counties and larger local government units have been and continue to receive their stimulus allotments from the federal government.

The American Rescue Plan Act required states to apply for funding for communities with less than a 50,000 person population called Non-Entitlement Units (NEU). These Non-Entitlement Units have been waiting for the State of Indiana to apply so they can also receive federal stimulus dollars.

“I am pleased that the application is finally going forward so that the hundreds of smaller cities and towns in our state will now be in a position to anticipate that their funding will actually materialize in the next several months as they begin crafting their budgets for 2022,” Porter said.

“These smaller but equally important local units have been watching their neighboring municipalities announcing how they are going to spend their American Rescue Plan Act allocations and now they can join them and show their constituents what they are intending to do with the funding as well.

“It is especially important to note that it took several years longer for the United States economy to recover during the 2008 Great Recession largely due to the fact that insufficient relief funding was provided to local units of government. Hopefully, a more timely distribution of these American Rescue Plan Act dollars to local governments in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic will keep our local governments financially resilient. This not only helps them but the state and greater nation as a whole.”

Porter plans to remain vigilant as a member of the State Budget Committee to see that these federal stimulus dollars make it into the hands of Hoosier communities that need them the most.