Political Dispute Over CARES Funds
Much about nothing
Recently
a dispute arose between elected officials from the
Town of Hempstead (TOH) and Nassau County over the
expenditure of federal funds related to the Corona
Virus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act otherwise
known as the CARES Act. The legislation which
allocated $2.2 trillion dollars was signed into law
by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020. The law
provided financial assistance to the healthcare
system, loans/grants for small business, loans for
corporations, expanded unemployment assistance,
payments of $1200 for individuals, $500 tax credit
per child, cash grants for the airline industry and
$150 billion to state and local government.
Governmental entities covered by the act include
state,
territorial, local and tribal governments.
One of the requirements is that the funds be spent by December
31, 2020.
The Town of Hempstead was the only town that qualified for federal funds based population data (768,103 residents). That accounts for half of all residents in Nassau County. In total, the Town of Hempstead received $133,832,095.50 and Nassau County received $102,940,678.70. The TOH has provided personal protection (PPE) to local businesses, provided grants to hospitals, colleges, local governments, fire departments, food banks and not for profits. The dispute arose when the TOH allocated 470 million to fund town operations and declined to allocate funds to Nassau County government. As a result, several Democrat elected officials called for a probe by the state Comptroller's office. Ironically, Nassau County also allocated a large portion of their funds to cover police payroll.
Unfortunately, the dispute between the Republican run TOH and the Democrat run County is nothing more than a partisan political dispute over money. The dispute itself in a distraction. After reviewing the spending of both entities, it would appear that they are adhering to the guidelines as set forth in the law. Click here to read the guidelines for the use of the funds and decide for yourself if the funds was spent consistent with the guidelines. The real question that should be asked, "Why are federal funds being used in this manner in the first place? While some of the spending makes sense, Washington does what it does best, spend your money. That should be the focus of any outrage.