Pennsylvania received $7.3 billion in state and local pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and had spent more than $5.6 billion as of March.
A state budget that dumps billions in federal coronavirus money into savings, boosts spending on education and provides aid to nursing homes easily passed the Legislature on Friday.
The commonwealth is expected to have a $3 billion budget surplus and more than $7 billion available in American Rescue Plan dollars.
The state’s orphan well plugging program has been underfunded for decades, but it is primed to take advantage of an influx of cash.
The entrepreneurial spirit is a big deal in Chester, a formerly industrial city of 34,000 that has been facing declining population and loss of local businesses for decades.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses are opening an ambitious, cross-country tour this week to highlight the benefits of his $1.9 trillion plan to defeat the coronavirus and boost the economy.
President Biden and his party are hoping that by muscling through passage of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief and economic stimulus bill they can win back at least a larger share of working-class voters.
Stimulus money starts to arrive
Moderate Democrats have demanded that the $1,400 stimulus checks be targeted at low- and moderate-income people. The change, if adopted, means the House will need to vote again on the package.
