Data Stories

The spread and uncertainty of the pandemic increased stress and anxiety for many veterans, especially for those who experienced homelessness or mental health issues, such as PTSD. To help, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) received $34.4 billion, much of which was aimed at assisting states, nonprofits, and other organizations build nursing homes and facilities for veterans facing homelessness.

Local governments have received a total of $350 billion from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to support pandemic efforts – that’s a lot of money. We've built new maps to help you explore the spending from this huge program in your city, county, and town.

Recipients of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) first reported on how they were spending the money in January 2022. Reporting took place a second time in April 2022. Here we look at some of the key differences between the two reporting periods and how local governments are spending the money.

Organizations receiving contracts from the federal government are classified by types of industries based on the North American Industry Classification System. These categories allow the government to understand the kinds of businesses receiving federal contracts. For example, the Department Health and Human Services gave a contract for ventilators to Ventec Life Systems, Inc., which is classified in the “Surgical and medical instrument manufacturing” category. The Department of Education gave a COVID testing kits contract to Emed Labs, LLC, which is classified as “medical laboratories.”

Federal agencies have distributed most of the pandemic funding through grants, direct payments, and loans. However, the agencies have also signed contracts to buy goods and services related to the pandemic.

Many people found themselves underemployed or unemployed during the pandemic. For example, in April, 2020, unemployment was 14.7%, impacting 23 million people. To address these issues, many state and local governments used funding from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) to create or expand programs that provided job training and connected people to potential job opportunities.

Many state and local governments have used money from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) to expand the number of beds in shelters and support services, and create new programs to address the growing problem of homelessness. Read on to see how two states, two counties, and two cities are using these funds to address the challenges people experiencing homelessness face.

State and local governments are using money from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) to experiment with new pilot programs that tackle issues arising from the pandemic. Here are examples of pilot programs from Connecticut and Iowa, Milwaukee and Orange counties, and San José and Washington, D.C. as described in the recipients’ SLFRF Recovery Plans submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

We’ve added even more data to our website and it comes with stories about how the money is being spent. Our new data series will highlight the stories of how more than 30,000 recipients -- state, local, territorial and Tribal governments – are spending money received from the $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF).

The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provides funding to state, local and Tribal governments to address the impacts of COVID-19. We explore some common themes.