More Than $350B in Federal Recovery Cash Starts Rolling Out; $6B Headed to Md.

States, cities and counties can begin to tap their share of the $350 billion in federal funds intended to spur a national recovery from the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, White House officials announced Monday. The Biden administration said the much-anticipated money, which was included in the massive relief law enacted earlier this year, can aid governments of all sizes in paying for a wide range of costs related to the pandemic response. The funds will boost the budgets of not just states but thousands of U.S. cities and counties—unlike the first pandemic relief bill passed in 2020, which gave money to only states and larger local governments.