Over $10 billion in federal COVID relief

The federal government has allocated over $10 billion to Vermont to minimize the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. This unprecedented amount of aid—an amount equal to 30 percent of Vermont’s 2019 total personal income—has helped Vermonters get through the pandemic.

A third of the support has gone directly to individuals, in the form of unemployment benefits, stimulus payments, tax credits, and other supports; a quarter has gone to businesses, through the Paycheck Protection Program and other grant programs; and the rest has gone to public services helping Vermonters maintain housing, and access healthcare, education, and other social services. Most of the individual and business support is already out the door, with expanded unemployment benefits ending in early September. The public services dollars are a mix of emergency aid and support for longer-term projects to be spent by 2026.

With this aid, and likely more to come via a federal infrastructure bill the Senate passed last week, Vermont has the opportunity to make some important and needed investments in income security, equity, and infrastructure.