Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

July 13, 2020 – October 15, 2021 R46449

Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief October 15, 2021
Six pieces of legislation have been enacted as of the date of publication that included federal
funding for response to and recovery from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic:
William L. Painter
Specialist in Homeland
 H.R. 6074 (116th Congress), the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Security and
Appropriations Act, 2020, signed into law as P.L. 116-123 on March 6, 2020.
Appropriations


H.R. 6201 (116th Congress), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into
law as P.L. 116-127 on March 18, 2020. Division A is the Second Coronavirus

Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 .
 H.R. 748 (116th Congress), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act,
signed into law as P.L. 116-136 on March 27, 2020. Division B is Emergency Appropriations for
Coronavirus Health Response and Agency Operations.
 H.R. 266 (116th Congress), the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, signed
into law as P.L. 116-139 on April 24, 2020. Division B is Additional Emergency Appropriations for
Coronavirus Response.
 H.R. 113 (116th Congress), the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, signed into law as P.L. 116-260 on
December 27, 2020. Divisions M and N are the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
Appropriations Act and Additional Coronavirus Response and Relief, respectively.
 H.R. 1319 (117th Congress), the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, signed into law as P.L. 117-2 on
March 11, 2021.
Five of the six above-listed laws include both discretionary spending, through supplemental appropriations, and direct
spending, through changes to statutory programs. This brief report explains the difference and provides a frame of reference
for understanding what has been provided by Congress thus far.
The report does not track the execution of these programs, or the spending of the resources provided; neither does it
illuminate aid allocations by state or locality.
This report will be not be updated unless additional COVID-19-specific spending legislation is enacted.

Congressional Research Service

Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Introduction
Six pieces of legislation have been enacted that included federal funding for response to and
recovery from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as of the date of
publication.
Five of the six enacted funding measures include both discretionary spending through
supplemental appropriations and direct spending through changes to statutory programs.1 This
brief report explains the difference between these types of spending and provides a frame of
reference for understanding what resources have been provided by Congress thus far.
This report does not track the execution of COVID-19 relief or recovery programs, or the
spending of the resources provided. Additional y, it does not address the use by the executive
branch of funding enacted pre-pandemic to respond to the pandemic or describe aid al ocations by
state or locality.
Legislative Summary of Measures with COVID-19
Supplemental Funding
The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074, 116th Congress)
H.R. 6074 was introduced by House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey on March 4,
2020. That day, the bil was considered under a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bil ,
which was agreed to by a vote of 415-2.2 The measure was laid before the Senate by unanimous
consent on March 5, 2020. After a proposed amendment was tabled, the measure passed by a vote
of 96-1.3
The bil was signed into law as P.L. 116-123 on March 6, 2020. Division A is the supplemental
appropriations measure, and Division B is the “Telehealth Services During Certain Emergency
Periods Act of 2020.”
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201, 116th
Congress)
H.R. 6201 was introduced by House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey on March 11,
2020. The legislation was considered under a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bil on
March 14, 2020, which was agreed to by a vote of 363-40 with one Member voting present.4 The
measure was laid before the Senate by unanimous consent on March 18, 2020, and after the
Senate did not agree to three amendments, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 90-8.5

1 T he one exception being P.L. 117-2, which includes only direct spending, and no discretionary appropriations.
2 House Roll no. 86.
3 Senate Record Vote Number 66.
4 House Roll no. 102.
5 Senate Record Vote Number 75.
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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

The bil was signed into law as P.L. 116-127 on March 18, 2020. Division A is the “Second
Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020.” Divisions B
through G:
 expanded food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture;
 expanded emergency family and medical leave;
 supported state unemployment insurance programs;
 provided for access to COVID-19 testing with no cost to the individual;
 required certain employers to provide paid sick leave for workers unable to work
due to COVID-19; and
 provided tax credits to employers for paid sick and paid family medical leave.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES
Act) (H.R. 748, 116th Congress)
H.R. 748 was first passed by the House on July 17, 2019, under suspension of the rules, as a tax
measure unrelated to COVID-19. The bil was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on July
22, 2019, but the Senate did not act on the original legislation. It is not unusual for such unrelated
legislation to be used as a “shel ” or “vehicle” to facilitate the passage of a more timely piece of
legislation, but these actions were not taken in specific anticipation of using the bil in this
manner.
The majority attempted to proceed to consideration of H.R. 748 on March 20, 2020, but was
unable to do so until unanimous consent was granted on March 25. The bil was laid before the
Senate and an amendment in the nature of a substitute replaced the original text with that of the
“Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act). The Senate considered but
did not agree to two other amendments, and passed the bil by a vote of 96-0.6 The House passed
the bil with the Senate amendment on a voice vote on March 27, 2020. The bil was signed into
law as P.L. 116-136 on March 27, 2020.
Division A contained numerous measures, including:
 a title which authorized the Paycheck Protection Program;
 a title which authorized pandemic unemployment assistance for certain workers
and other unemployment assistance measures, rebates, and other policy changes
to help individuals and businesses deal with economic hardships;
 a title to support the U.S. health care system, which addressed a range of issues
related to education, labor, health policy, Medicare, Medicaid, public health, and
over-the-counter drugs;
 a title to promote economic stabilization and assistance to certain distressed
sectors of the economy; and
 a title to provide coronavirus relief funding to states.
Division B is a supplemental appropriations measure: Emergency Appropriations for Coronavirus
Health Response and Agency Operations.

6 Senate Record Vote Number 80.
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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement
Act (H.R. 266, 116th Congress)
The House first passed H.R. 266 on January 11, 2019, as an FY2020 annual appropriations
measure unrelated to COVID-19. The bil was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on
January 15, 2019, but the Senate did not act on the original legislation, as FY2020 annual
appropriations were resolved through a consolidated appropriations bil . Thus H.R. 266 was
available to be repurposed as a vehicle for COVID-related purposes, as H.R. 748 had been.
The Senate agreed to take up the measure on April 21, 2020. The bil was laid before the Senate
by unanimous consent and an amendment in the nature of a substitute replaced the original text
with that of the “Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.” The Senate
passed the bil the same day by voice vote.
The House of Representatives took up the amended bil on April 23, 2020, suspending the rules
and passing it by a vote of 388-5, with one Member voting present. The bil was signed into law
as P.L. 116-139 on April 24, 2020.
Division A of P.L. 116-139 modified and extended a series of smal business programs, including
the Paycheck Protection Program and the Smal Business Administration’s Economic Injury
Disaster Loans. Division B is separately titled Additional Emergency Appropriations for
Coronavirus Response, and included funding for initiatives through the Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund and the Smal Business Administration.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 113, 116th
Congress)
The House first passed H.R. 113 on January 10, 2019, as an international affairs bil unrelated to
the COVID-19 pandemic. The bil was reported from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
with an amendment on December 17, 2019, and passed with an amendment by unanimous
consent on January 15, 2020.
The House repurposed the Senate-passed version of the bil , adding multiple divisions of
appropriations language on December 21, 2020, doing so in two parts: the first encompassing
four annual appropriations measures, and the second encompassing the other eight, as wel as
supplemental COVID-19 response and relief appropriations and multiple other measures. The
first passed 327-85, and the second 359-53. The Senate passed the consolidated bil by a vote of
92-6, and it was signed into law as P.L. 116-260 on December 27, 2020.
Division M of P.L. 117-2 is the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations
Act, 2021, and Division N is Additional Coronavirus Response and Relief .
The American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, 117th Congress)
The American Rescue Plan Act was reported out of the House Committee on the Budget on
February 24, 2021. The House took up the bil on the evening of February 26, 2021, and passed it
in the early hours of February 27, 2021, by a vote of 219-212. The Senate took up the bil on
March 4, 2021, passing it with an amendment on March 6 by a vote of 50-49, returning it to the
House. The House voted to concur in the Senate amendment on March 10, 2021, and the bil was
signed into law as P.L. 117-2 on March 11, 2021.

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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Tallying the Resources Provided
CRS is frequently posed two general types of questions regarding the scope of funding measures:
 What has Congress provided?
 What has been spent?
These are distinct questions, and the authoritative answers for them come from different sources.
Tallying Congressional Action
Congress provides budget authority—permission to spend money from the Treasury—to the rest
of government in two types of measures: in appropriations acts and in what some term
“authorizing” or “substantive” legislation. The six measures examined in this report are
consolidated measures which include aspects of both types, and provide a mix of discretionary
budget authority and direct spending.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), discretionary spending stems from
“budget authority provided in and controlled by appropriations acts”7 and direct spending is its
opposite: it stems from “an appropriation or other budget authority made available to agencies in
an act other than an appropriation act.”8 Discretionary budget authority is most often reflected in
a direct fashion: a particular amount with a particularly defined term of availability for the
recipient to commit to the use of those funds (to “obligate” them).9 Direct spending may be
directly reflected, but more often it is the result of changes in statute that involve existing legal
obligations for the government to conduct an activity, provide a service, or pay a benefit. Thus, it
takes a certain level of expert analysis to project how much more (or less) spending over an
extended time may result from a particular change.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is the primary congressional source for such
projections. Other assessments of these amounts are conducted by the Office of Management and
Budget, and at times the GAO or other oversight bodies, such as inspectors general, special
panels, and review boards.
Congressional Budget Office Projections
CBO cost estimates are the standard Congress uses to assess the net cost of legislation. CBO’s
cost estimates include their best projections of discretionary spending and direct spending that
would result from a given piece of legislation, as wel as any changes to collections of federal
revenues. Their estimates can provide insights into two questions frequently asked by Congress:
 What volume of resources is Congress providing in a measure?
 How wil a measure affect the government’s balance sheet?
What Volume of Resources is Congress Providing in These Measures?
In publicly available CBO cost estimates, discretionary spending is arranged by subcommittee
and agency. Direct spending is more loosely organized on the basis of the structure of the

7 U.S. Government Accountability Office, A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, GAO-05-734SP,
September 2005, p. 46, https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-734SP.
8 Ibid., p. 45.
9 Sometimes the term of availability is until the resources are expended.
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legislation. At times, this presents a chal enge in determining how much funding a particular
agency or department has received in given legislation, as the direct spending element may not be
readily identifiable. In addition, while discretionary budget authority is general y provided in an
explicit amount in a single fiscal year, direct spending is recorded as a projected amount over a
10-year period, so multiple potential totals are possible. In part because of these chal enges,
authoritative statements of “how much funding is in a bil ” when both discretionary and
mandatory spending are involved may vary significantly for a single measure: different parties
may use different totals in their discussions of agency and department funding levels– some may
exclude direct spending, while others may include the first year or more of it.
Table 1 shows CBO’s estimates of both discretionary appropriations and direct spending for the
six enacted COVID-19 funding measures, il ustrating how the amount of estimated budget
authority changes over time, resulting in different totals for what a given public law provides.

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Table 1. CBO Cost Estimates of COVID-19 Relief
(mil ions of dol ars of budget authority)

P.L. 116-123
P.L. 116-127
P.L. 116-136
P.L. 116-139
P.L. 116-20
P.L. 117-2

(FY2020)
(FY2020)
(FY2020)
(FY2020)
(FY2021)
(FY2021)
Total
Discretionary
7,767
2,471
330,000
162,100
184,300
0
686,638
Appropriations (Budget
Authority)
Direct Spending

(Estimated Budget
Authority)
1st Fiscal Year
110
53,072
1,452,000
321,300
72,523
1,587,786
3,486,791
10 Fiscal Years
490
93,919
1,486,000
321,300
75,779
1,822,736
3,800,224
Public Law Estimated

Budget Authority Total
1st Fiscal Year
7,877
55,543
1,782,000
483,400
256,823
1,587,786
4,173,429
10 Fiscal Years
8,257
96,390
1,816,000
483,400
260,079
1,822,736
4,486,862
Source: CBO scoring documents (see Appendix for complete list).
Notes: The CBO estimate for P.L. 116-136 was provided in bil ions, rather than mil ions. While later CBO documents provided a more exact total for discretionary
budget authority provided in the bil , for consistency, the previous estimate was used.

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How Will These Measures Affect the Deficit?
Some observers prefer to consider the impact of legislation on the federal budget deficit. Those
calculations depend on estimated outlays of federal resources, rather than the authority to make
those outlays (the “budget authority” discussed previously).10 Such calculations must take into
account not only changes in spending, but also changes in revenue flowing to the Treasury as a
result of the laws under analysis. CBO’s cost estimates noted that provisions in P.L. 116-127 and
P.L. 116-136 would reduce federal revenue over the next 10 fiscal years. Table 2 includes CBO’s
data on outlays and changes in revenue to provide an overview of the net projected increase in the
federal budget deficit as a result of these laws. As in Table 1, these estimates of outlays change
depending on the time frame.

10 Outlays are essentially the exercise of budget authority over time. Budget authority is generally needed for federal
agencies to set up grant programs, initiate contracting efforts for large acquisitions, and so forth, and is often provided
in multi-year appropriations to accommodate the fact that outlays often occur years after the budget authority is
provided.
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Table 2. CBO Estimates of COVID-19 Relief Impact on the Deficit
(bil ions of dol ars)

P.L. 116-123
P.L. 116-127
P.L. 116-136
P.L. 116-139
P.L. 116-260
P.L. 117-2
Total

(FY2020)
(FY2020)
(FY2020)
(FY2020)
(FY2021)
(FY2021)
Estimated 10-Year
8
2
326
162
185
—
683
Discretionary
Appropriations Outlay
Total
Estimated 10-Year Direct
*
95
988
321
677
1,803
3,894
Spending Outlay Total
Estimated 10-Year
—
94
408
—
5
53
560
Decreases in Revenue
Estimated 10-Year Net
8
192
1,721
483
868
1,856
5,037
Impact on the Deficit
Source: Congressional Budget Office, “The Budgetary Effects of Laws Enacted in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, March and April 2020,” June 2020, available at
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2020-06/56403-CBO-covid-legislation.pdf; and Congressional Budget Office “The Budgetary Effects of Major Laws Enacted in Response
to the 2020-2021 Coronavirus Pandemic, December 2020 and March 2021,” September 2021 , available at https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-09/57343-Pandemic.pdf.
Notes: Columns may not sum due to CBO rounding. “*” indicates a non-zero value less than $500 mil ion. While several initial estimates were provided at the scale of
mil ions of dol ars, for consistency of methodology, this table draws from a pair of later CBO summaries of budgetary effects. Positive numbers in this section of the table
reflect reductions in revenues.

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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Tally
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has developed a number of reports on
opportunities to improve the federal government’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, as
directed by Section 19010 of the CARES Act. One report from June 2021 included a total for the
additional COVID-19 related appropriations as being $4.706 tril ion as of the end of May 2021,
based on information from the Department of the Treasury.11
This is functional y different from the CBO tal ies because it is calculated on the basis of
“appropriations warrants” issued by the Department of the Treasury. These warrants are issued to
the agencies for which funds were appropriated, establishing the amount they are al owed to draw
from the Treasury.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Tally
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) is a special committee within the
Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).12 The
PRAC was established by Section 15010 of the CARES Act to help prevent and detect waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of COVID-19 response and recovery funds, and mitigate
crosscutting risks that cut across program and agency boundaries. As of this writing, the PRAC is
composed of 22 inspectors general from across the federal government.
The PRAC website (https://pandemic.oversight.gov) includes a variety of useful resources in
interpreting the resources provided by Congress. The committee’s homepage includes the
following summary of the funding provided by Congress in the six enacted COVID-19 funding
measures:
The Six Laws that Funded Pandemic Relief Programs
1. The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Total
$7.8B)
2. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Total $15.4B)
3. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, (CARES Act) (Total $2.1T)
4. Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (Total $483B)
5. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (Total $900B)
6. The American Rescue Plan of 2021 (Total $1.9T)
These rough numbers total $5.396 tril ion in the six laws that funded pandemic relief and
recovery.13 Footnotes within the report indicate these numbers were drawn directly from analysis
of the legislation in question, while similar data presented on the PRAC’s website indicate that
analysis was “verified through OIG and Treasury data.”

11 U.S. Government Account ability Office, COVID-19: Continued Attention Needed to Enhance Federal Preparedness,
Response, Service Delivery, and Program Integrity, GAO-21-551, June 2021, p. 13, available at https://files.gao.gov/
assets/gao-21-551.pdf.
12 For more information, see CRS Insight IN11343, The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee: Organization
and Duties.
13 T hese measures also supported relief and recovery programs beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, including other
natural disasters.
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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Office of Management and Budget Tally
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issues a quarterly report on “The Economic
Impact of Coronavirus Response Funds.”14 It includes, as an appendix, a coronavirus response
funding overview that includes the same six measures tal ied by the PRAC, characterized as
follows:
Phase 1: Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act,
2020 (P.L. 116-123)
In total, this act provided $7 billion in emergency funding for Federal agencies’
response…
Phase 2: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127)
In total, provided $192 billion….
Phase 3: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136)
In total, provided $2.1 trillion to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the
economy, public health, State and local governments, individuals, and businesses…
Phase 3.5: PPP and Health Care Enhancement Act (P.L. 116-139)
In total, provided $493 billion in additional funding for small business loans, health care
providers, and testing…
Phase 4: Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-260), Divisions M and N
In total, provided $868 billion in additional funding for small businesses, individuals,
state and local governments, and vaccinations…
Phase 5: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2)
In total, the ARP provided $1.9 trillion for supporting individuals, households,
businesses, and various public health measures….15
This sums to $5.56 tril ion, higher than the PRAC total—largely due to higher estimates for the
second and fourth measures, offset slightly by a lower estimate for the fifth measure. OMB’s
estimate for the second measure conforms more closely to CBO’s estimate than the PRAC’s
estimate.
Tallying What Has Been Spent
Congressional action to provide funding through a mandatory program or through appropriations
is only the beginning of the aid process. The executive branch must then obligate the resources
Congress has appropriated and carry out the activities provided for in law. Section 15011 of the
CARES Act places reporting requirements on federal agencies receiving funding under the
COVID-19-related funding measures.
CBO general y does not provide public tracking of the obligation of funds.

14 P.L. 116-136, Section 15011(c); 134 Stat. 541-542.
15 Office of Management and Budget, “T he Economic Impact of Coronavirus Response Funds: Fourth Quarterly
Report,” June 23, 2021, pp. 25-29, available at https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/sites/default/files/2021-08/
ombReportFourthReport.pdf.
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Government Accountability Office Tallies
GAO noted in COVID-19: Continued Attention Needed to Enhance Federal Preparedness,
Response, Service Delivery, and Program Integrity that:
As of May 31, 2021, of the $4.7 trillion appropriated by these six laws for COVID-19
relief—including about $1.6 trillion appropriated by ARPA, which was enacted in March
2021—the federal government had obligated a total of $3.5 trillion and had expended $3.0
trillion, as reported by federal agencies.16
GAO provided additional analysis based on OMB-directed agency spending reports.17 This
analysis included the following table outlining appropriations from the six measures, as wel as
al ocations and obligations of those resources:

Table 3. COVID-19 Relief Appropriations, Obligations, and Expenditures as of May
31, 2021
bil ions of dol ars, as compiled in GAO-21-551
Major Spending Areaa
Total Appropriationsb
Total Obligationsc
Total Expendituresc
(reporting agency)
Unemployment Insurance
858.5
575.6
566.2
(Department of Labor)
Economic Impact
855.3
829.9
829.9
Payments
(Department of the
Treasury)
Business Loan Programs
838.0
834.6
805.4d
(Smal Business
Administration)
Public Health and Social
350.1
228.7
154.5
Services Emergency Fund
(Department of Health
and Human Services)
Coronavirus State and
350.0
140.2
131.0
Local Fiscal Recovery
Funds
(Department of the
Treasury)
Education Stabilization
278.6
224.0
30.9
Fund
(Department of
Education)

16 U.S. Government Accountability Office, COVID-19: Continued Attention Needed to Enhance Federal Preparedness,
Response, Service Delivery, and Program In tegrity, GAO-21-551, July 2021, Highlights page, https://files.gao.gov/
assets/gao-21-551.pdf.
17 OMB’s reporting directions for COVID-19 funding are laid out in OMB Memorandum M-20-21: Implementation
Guidance for Supplemental Funding Provided in Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID -19), April 10,
2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Implementation-Guidance-for-Supplemental-Funding-
Provided-in-Response.pdf.
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Major Spending Areaa
Total Appropriationsb
Total Obligationsc
Total Expendituresc
(reporting agency)
Coronavirus Relief Fund
150.0
149.9
149.5
(Department of the
Treasury)
Disaster Relief Funde
97.0
58.1
2.2
(Department of
Homeland Security)
Transit Infrastructure
69.5
27.1
19.6
Grants
(Department of
Transportation)
Supplemental Nutrition
69.4
26.9
26.8
Assistance Programs
(Department of
Agriculture)
Emergency Economic
55.0
21.4
21.1
Injury Disaster Loan
(EIDL) Grants
(Smal Business
Administration)
Payment to States for the
52.5
51.9
3.9
Child Care and
Development Block Grant
(Department of Health
and Human Services)
Disaster Loans Programs
51.0
27.1
25.5d
(Smal Business
Administration)
Other areas
630.6
303.6
233.3
TOTALf
4,705.6
3,499.0
2,999.8
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, COVID-19: Continued Attention Needed to Enhance Federal
Preparedness, Response, Service Delivery, and Program Integrity, GAO-21-551, July 2021, p. 13.
Notes:
a. Categorization based on the Department of the Treasury’s tracking codes.
b. Based on appropriation warrant information from the Department of Treasury as of May 31, 2021. May
increase due to indefinite appropriations in the six coronavirus response and recovery bil s.
c. Agency-reported data.
d. Mostly reflects loan subsidy costs.
e. Appropriations reflect total provided in the six measures, although that funding is not limited to the
COVID-19 response and recovery. According to GAO, “The Disaster Relief Fund’s COVID-19-related
spending includes funding from appropriations in addition to those in the six COVID-19 relief laws.
Treasury’s methodology for determining COVID-19-related obligations and expenditures does not include
obligations and expenditures from these other appropriations.” Total COVID-19 spending from the DRF
can be tracked in the DRF monthly reports to Congress.
f.
Columns may not sum to totals due to rounding.
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Pandemic Response Accountability Committee / USAspending.gov Tally
The PRAC website includes among its interactive dashboards a visualization of money obligated
and spent by federal agencies. It also al ows the data to be downloaded. At the beginning of
October 2021, the PRAC reported that $3.9 tril ion had been obligated, and $3.4 tril ion had been
spent, based on data drawn from USAspending.gov. This data is built on agency-reported
financial and award data that has been submitted monthly since April 2020, and tagged with a
Disaster Emergency Fund Code for the COVID-19 pandemic. These codes are only used to track
spending by the executive branch in the six measures examined in this report—no annual
appropriations are included in this tal y.
Conclusion
What do all these numbers mean?
There are multiple perspectives on assessing the resources Congress provides.
Some resources can be readily assessed in the plain language of discretionary appropriations,
while others require deeper analysis and projection of future economic activity. Some
assessments look specifical y at discretionary appropriations, while others incorporate spending
through changes in statutory programs. Another type of analysis looks at the anticipated effect of
the enacted measures on federal revenues and the anticipated timing of spending to develop an
assessment of the effect on the budget deficit.
Congressional activity relies primarily on the anticipatory perspectives provided by CBO
projecting the budget authority that wil be made available or revenue levels that wil shift. Other
analyses rely on the actions of the Department of the Treasury in response to enacted measures.
They are stil anticipatory, in that they represent the budget authority that is being provided, but
they do not yet represent resources put into play by the executive branch, or additional debt
accrued.
Data on actual obligation and expenditure of dollars lies primarily in the hands of the executing
agencies and the Department of the Treasury. Effective oversight of relief and recovery spending
for any disaster across agencies requires uniform, consistent reporting on al ocations, obligations,
and expenditures.
What funding is going to a particular state/district?
In the COVID-19 response, where Congress faces a catastrophic disaster that covers the entire
United States, as in the case of other incidents, the legislative language in these measures
general y does not signal that particular states or congressional districts are the intended
destinations of funds. Information on al ocation of resources across the country in the case of
COVID-19 is largely in the hands of the executive branch agencies, and their reporting is the
primary source of available information.18
CRS has identified a range of sources to track information on COVID-19 response and recovery
spending, several of which are direct agency reporting on individual programs, and may include

18 Some allocations of resources are made by formula, such as the $150 billion appropriated to the Coronavirus Relief
Fund and the $350 million appropriated to the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, and outside
observers may make estimates of resource distribution.
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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

some information on what jurisdictions are associated with certain spending. Those sources are
listed and linked in CRS Report R46491, Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending.
While the currently available information is not adequate to develop an authoritative overview of
COVID-19 supplemental spending by congressional district, it is possible to track contracts and
financial assistance related to COVID-19 through the USAspending.gov website.19

19 https://www.usaspending.gov/disaster/covid-19?publicLaw=all.
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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Appendix. References
CBO Scoring Documents
P.L. 116-123
Congressional Budget Office, CBO Estimate for H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and
Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, March 4, 2020, available at
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56227.
P.L. 116-127
Letter from Phil ip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office, to The Honorable Nita M.
Lowey, Chairwoman, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives, April 2,
2020, Preliminary Estimate of the Effects of H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response
Act, available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56316.
P.L. 116-136
Letter from Phil ip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office, to The Honorable Mike
Enzi, Chairman, Committee on the Budget, United States Senate, April 27, 2020, Preliminary
Estimate of the Effects of H.R. 748, the CARES Act, P.L. 116-136, Revised, With Corrections to
the Revenue Effect of the Employee Retention Credit and to the Modification of a Limitation on
Losses for Taxpayers Other Than Corporations, available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/
56334.
P.L. 116-139
Congressional Budget Office, CBO Estimate for H.R. 266, the Paycheck Protection Program and
Health Care Enhancement Act, April 22, 2020, available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/
56338.
P.L. 116-260, Divisions M and N
Congressional Budget Office, Summary Estimate for Divisions M Through FF, H.R. 133,
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, P.L. 116-260, Enacted on December 27, 2020, January
14, 2021, available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56963.
P.L. 117-2
Congressional Budget Office, Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021, March 10, 2021, available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57056.
CBO Analyses
Congressional Budget Office, The Budgetary Effects of Laws Enacted in Response to the 2020
Coronavirus Pandemic, March and April 2020, June 16, 2020, available at https://www.cbo.gov/
publication/56403.
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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Congressional Budget Office, The Budgetary Effects of Major Laws Enacted in Response to the
2020-2021 Coronavirus Pandemic, December 2020 and March 2021, September 7, 2021,
available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57343.
Initial Oversight Materials
Government Accountability Office
COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts, GAO-20-625,
June 25, 2020.
Statement of Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States before the Select
Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
House of Representatives, GAO-20-625T, June 26, 2020, https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-
20-659T.
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform, House of Representatives, “Accountability in Crisis: GAO’s Recommendations to
Improve the Federal Coronavirus Response,” (hearing), June 26, 2020,
https://coronavirus.house.gov/subcommittee-activity/hearings/accountability-crisis-gao-s-
recommendations-improve-federal.
Office of Management and Budget Guidance
OMB Memorandum M-20-21: Implementation Guidance for Supplemental Funding Provided in
Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), April 10, 2020,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Implementation-Guidance-for-
Supplemental-Funding-Provided-in-Response.pdf.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, “PRAC Releases Tool to Track Nationwide
Contract Spending on Pandemic Relief,” press release, June 23, 2020,
https://pandemic.oversight.gov/news/articles/prac-releases-tool-track-nationwide-contract-
spending-pandemic-relief.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Top Challenges Facing Federal Agencies:
COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Response Efforts, June 17, 2020, https://www.oversight.gov/
sites/default/files/oig-reports/Top%20Chal enges%20Facing%20Federal%20Agencies%20-
%20COVID-19%20Emergency%20Relief%20and%20Response%20Efforts_1.pdf.

Author Information

William L. Painter

Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations

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Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
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copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

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