Lang
4/30/21
Gov. Kim Reynolds has rejected $95 million in federal COVID relief funding from the Biden administration. The money would have gone towards COVID-19 testing in schools and making classrooms safer for returning students.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Kelly Garcia, interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, sent a letter last week to an official with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating the state would pass on $95,029,161 that had been allocated to the state. Reynolds has cited the fact that Iowa students have already been back in school for months as the reason why the money was not needed. Garcia wrote to the CDC that Iowa already had ample funding for testing and other safety measures without federal assistance.
Reynolds appeared on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show Thursday night, telling the host she thinks President Joe Biden is acting as if the pandemic is just beginning, whereas Iowa has already had students back in schools since August.
The CDC notes the funds could have been used for schools that have already reopened. It also could have been used to improve safety at school-sponsored activities such as sporting events, summer camps and graduation ceremonies. It could also be used for private and tribal schools, as well as costs associated with following up on positive tests.
One condition of accepting the money is filing regular reports with the federal government.
The Gazette notes that Iowa has kept millions of dollars of CARES Act funding approved under the Trump administration, even though according to Garcia’s letter, that money was also never needed.