LANGHORNE, PA—Today, April 23rd, 2020, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), announced an award allocation of Local Relief Grants totaling $253 million for Bucks and Montgomery Counties. This funding is provided through the Coronavirus Relief Fund provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Fitzpatrick.

Of the 67 Counties in Pennsylvania, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, both included in Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District, were two of only seven counties statewide to receive these funds.

The CARES Act requires that the payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund only be used to cover expenses that:

• Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19);
• Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
• Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.

“This money will provide a much-needed boost to help residents in our Congressional District get through this pandemic,” said Fitzpatrick. “We are all united in this fight and we are most effective when all levels of our government, federal, state, and local, are working together to help our community.”  

There are several other grants such as Health and Human Service Grants for our hospitals and healthcare providers along with various grants for our first responders that have yet to be released. Similar to the State and Local Relief grants, our office will continue to track these grants, advocate for our local community, and inform the various entities as the funds become available.

Additionally, earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development received a $12.4 billion allocation to be disbursed as quickly as possible to help communities across our country address COVID-19. The grants are disbursed through the following programs:

• Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) – flexible funding to states and local governments for a range of services to address coronavirus impacts at the community level.
• Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) – grants to state and local governments to limit the spread of the virus among the homeless population and to help reduce increases in homelessness due to financial distress.
• Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) – grants to helps state and local governments and non-profits address the threat of the virus among low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.

Moreover, the following jurisdictions in our Congressional District have previously been awarded the following additional funding streams:

• Bensalem Township received $203,160 through CDBG and $117,251 through HOPWA.
• Bristol Township received $374,312 through CDBG.
• Bucks County received $1,280,394 through CDBG and $634,572 through ESG.
• Montgomery County received $1,936,811 through CDBG and $976,638 through ESG.

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