State Revenue Is 'Virtually Flat.' Local Government Revenue Is Up Slightly. Congress Wants To Give Them $350 Billion Anyway.

Congress is inching closer to passing a $1.9 trillion COVID bill. If it becomes law, it will shower billions of dollars on local and state governments whose revenues have been minimally affected by the pandemic.

Over the weekend, the Senate voted along party lines to approve the Democrat-backed bill, whose provisions include $350 billion in support for state, local, and tribal governments.

States will get $195 billion of that money, with each state receiving $500 million at a minimum, plus additional funds based on their numbers of unemployed workers. Local governments will get another $130 billion. Territories and tribal governments will recieve another $25 billion.

This aid comes on top of the additional transit and education funding the legislation sends to states and localities. When that's included, roughly $510 billion—a quarter of the package—will go toward state and local aid. Past pandemic relief bills have already provided state and local governments with some $310 billion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.