New COVID-19 Relief and FY21 Funding Finally Emerge
Last night, Congress gave final approval to a massive legislative package that combined Phase IV COVID-19 financial relief and final Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations. Within the higher education realm, for COVID-19 relief, the bill provides $22.9 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). From the HEERF, 89% will be distributed by a formula that provides significant weighting to the number of Pell students attending an institution. According to an analysis by the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities (APLU), the FSU share is estimated to be $44.6 million. Although the higher education community will welcome the additional resources, the COVID-19 relief provided in the package falls far short of the identified need of $120 billion for HEERF and $26 billion for research recovery.
HEERF funding may be used for:
- Expenses related to the COVID-19 crisis, including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll
- Student support activities authorized by the Higher Education Act that address needs related to the COVID-19
- Financial aid grants to students, which may be used for any component of a student’s costs of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to the COVID-19 crisis such as tuition, food, housing, healthcare, or childcare.
The primary research resources contained in the bill were $1.25B to the National Institutes of Health to support long-term studies of COVID-19 and rapid acceleration of diagnostics.
In a statement released ahead of final votes, APLU noted that "the need for much more remains urgent" and emphasized that the lack of research recovery resources in the package is a significant shortcoming. Policymakers on and off of the Hill have already turned their focus to a Phase V COVID-19 relief bill for the early new year. However, a closely divided new Congress will likely prove a challenge to quickly advancing such a bill.
Additional detail on the COVID-19 higher education and research provisions along with final FY21 appropriations figures contained in the package will be provided shortly. The 5600-page package will not become law for a few days, as it is prepared for President Trump's signature. One last temporary funding measure has been approved to keep the government open.