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GAO-26-108587 1 (February 12, 2026)

handle is hein.gao/hrsoni0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Why This Matters Key Takeaways The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program allocated $350 billion to tribal governments, states, the District of Columbia, local governments, and U.S. territories to help cover a broad range of costs stemming from the health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.1 SLFRF was established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and is administered by the Department of the Treasury. SLFRF recipients must regularly submit reports to Treasury on their use of the awards and the projects undertaken with them.2 Generally, SLFRF recipients had until December 31, 2024, to obligate their SLFRF awards and have until December 31, 2026, to spend their awards. The CARES Act includes a provision for us to monitor the use of federal funds to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.3 This report updates our October 2023, April 2024, and September 2024 reports on states' and localities' SLFRF spending and uses of SLFRF.4 As of March 31, 2025-the most recent complete data available for all states and localities at the time of our review-states reported obligating all but $10.4 million of the $195.8 billion they received in SLFRF awards, and localities reported obligating all but $101 million of the $127.8 billion they received. Funds that were not obligated by December 31, 2024, generally must be returned to Treasury. Treasury has begun taking actions to recoup funds that states and localities reported as unobligated. As of November 2025, states and localities have returned $13.7 million in unobligated funds to Treasury. States reported spending 80 percent ($156.3 billion) of the SLFRF awards they received, and localities reported spending 84 percent ($107.2 billion) of their awards as of March 31, 2025.5 States and localities reported spending most of their awards to replace revenue lost due to the pandemic. As of March 31, 2025, 53 percent ($82.6 billion) of states' reported spending and 67 percent ($71.9 billion) of localities' reported spending was used for this purpose. Under ARPA, the SLFRF allocated the $350 billion across six groups of recipients (see fig. 1). Localities included counties, metropolitan cities (which we refer to as cities throughout this report), and non-entitlement units of local government (NEU), which are smaller local governments typically serving populations of less than 50,000.6 Page 1 GAO-26-108587 Fiscal Recovery Funds How much in SLFRF awards did states and localities receive? Page 1 GAO-26-108587 Fiscal Recovery Funds