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AS OF JUNE 24, 2021 <br />5 <br /> <br />Assistance to households includes, but is not limited to: food assistance; rent, mortgage, <br />or utility assistance; counseling and legal aid to prevent eviction or homelessness; cash <br />assistance; emergency assistance for burials, home repairs, weatherization, or other <br />needs; internet access or digital literacy assistance; or job training to address negative <br />economic or public health impacts experienced due to a worker’s occupation or level of <br />training. <br /> <br />Assistance to small business and non-profits includes, but is not limited to: <br />• loans or grants to mitigate financial hardship such as declines in revenues or <br />impacts of periods of business closure, for example by supporting payroll and <br />benefits costs, costs to retain employees, mortgage, rent, or utilities costs, and <br />other operating costs; <br />• Loans, grants, or in-kind assistance to implement COVID-19 prevention or <br />mitigation tactics, such as physical plant changes to enable social distancing, <br />enhanced cleaning efforts, barriers or partitions, or COVID-19 vaccination, <br />testing, or contact tracing programs; and <br />• Technical assistance, counseling, or other services to assist with business planning <br />needs <br /> <br />2.6. May recipients use funds to respond to the public health emergency and its negative <br />economic impacts by providing direct cash transfers to households? <br /> <br />Yes, provided the recipient considers whether, and the extent to which, the household has <br />experienced a negative economic impact from the pandemic. Additionally, cash transfers <br />must be reasonably proportional to the negative economic impact they are intended to <br />address. Cash transfers grossly in excess of the amount needed to address the negative <br />economic impact identified by the recipient would not be considered to be a response to <br />the COVID-19 public health emergency or its negative impacts. In particular, when <br />considering appropriate size of permissible cash transfers made in response to the <br />COVID-19 public health emergency, state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments may <br />consider and take guidance from the per person amounts previously provided by the <br />federal government in response to the COVID crisis. <br /> <br />2.7. May funds be used to reimburse recipients for costs incurred by state and local <br />governments in responding to the public health emergency and its negative <br />economic impacts prior to passage of the American Rescue Plan? <br /> <br />Use of Fiscal Recovery Funds is generally forward looking. The Interim Final Rule <br />permits funds to be used to cover costs incurred beginning on March 3, 2021. <br /> <br />2.8. May recipients use funds for general economic development or workforce <br />development? <br /> <br />Generally, not. Recipients must demonstrate that funding uses directly address a negative <br />economic impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency, including funds used for <br />economic or workforce development. For example, job training for unemployed workers