Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending (R46491, Version 11, Updated November 24, 2020)

Summary

Version 11 of CRS report R46491, updated November 24, 2020, adds a description of USAspending.gov's Data Lab, a tool that shows the types of relief the federal government is providing and how funds move from Congress to the public. It also notes that detailed data on funding by agency account can be downloaded into a spreadsheet. The Data Lab's third part has interactive graphs of spending progress by agency under each funding bill, covering outlays, obligations and unobligated funds. The report, by Jennifer Teefy and Maria Kreiser, lists sources for tracking federal COVID-19 relief spending and refers readers to CRS Report R46474 for the laws enacted.

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Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19
Spending

Updated November 24, 2020

Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R46491
SUMMARY

R46491
Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19
November 24, 2020
Spending
Jennifer Teefy
Congress has responded to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with Senior Research Librarian
supplemental appropriations measures providing relief and assistance to individuals and families,
state and local governments, businesses, health care providers, and other entities. For more
Maria Kreiser
information, see CRS Report R46474, Laws Enacted in Response to COVID-19: Resources for Senior Research Librarian
Congressional Offices.

This report provides selected sources for tracking COVID-19 relief and assistance spending. It
includes links to and information on government sources detailing spending amounts at various
levels, including consolidated spending by multiple government agencies, spending by individual government agencies, and
spending to specific recipients and geographies. The sources themselves are large government databases, individual agencies,
oversight entities, and selected nongovernmental entities that attempt to repackage information on spending amounts
obtained from available government sources.

Due to the continually evolving nature of information provided by sources that track federal COVID-19 spending, this report
may be updated frequently.

For a legislative summary of the enacted bills, and a broad discussion of both the discretionary and direct spending measures
provided by Congress, see CRS Report R46449, Tallying Federal Funding for COVID-19: In Brief, by William L. Painter.
For general information on resources for tracking federal funds, see CRS Report R44027, Tracking Federal Awards:
USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources, by Jennifer Teefy.

Congressional Research Service
Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending

Contents
Consolidated Data on COVID-19 Funding .......................................................................... 1
USAspending.gov...................................................................................................... 1
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee .............................................................. 1
Government Accountability Office ............................................................................... 2
COVID-19 Funding by Type of Recipient ........................................................................... 2
State and Local Governments ...................................................................................... 2
Businesses and Nonprofit Organizations ....................................................................... 3
Individuals ............................................................................................................... 4
Grant Awards on Selected Federal Agency Websites ............................................................. 4
Other Resources.............................................................................................................. 4

Contacts
Author Information ......................................................................................................... 5

Congressional Research Service
Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending

Consolidated Data on COVID-19 Funding
USAspending.gov
USAspending.gov tracks federal contract and grant awards and other federal spending at the state,
congressional district, and local levels. As mandated by an Office of Management and Budget
memorandum, federal agencies must include specific COVID-19 spending in their reporting for
the database. Detailed data for some programs are not fully reported in USAspending.gov, such as
the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and the Department of Health
and Human Services’ Provider Relief Fund. The database provides a description of known data
limitations. Users can view COVID-19 spending data through the following features:
 COVID-19 Profile Page provides an overview of the federal funding response to
COVID-19. It includes details on total obligations and outlays by agency, federal
accounts, and object classes. An interactive map shows obligations and outlays
through grants, contracts, loans, and other assistance by state. Users can also see
obligations and outlays through different award types by agency and by Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) program.
 Advanced Search includes a filter for “Disaster Emergency Fund Code
(DEFC).” This filter allows users to search for all COVID-19 spending and also
expands to allow further filtering by specific funding bill. The search results table
includes columns containing COVID-19 obligations and outlays for each award.
 Data Lab is a tool for further exploring COVID-19 spending and provides
graphics showing (1) the types of relief the federal government is providing, (2)
how funds move from Congress to the public, and (3) data on the amount of
funding that has been spent. The third part contains interactive graphs showing
the progress of spending by agency under each funding bill, including outlays,
obligations, and unobligated funds. Detailed data on funding by agency account
can be downloaded into a spreadsheet.
For general information on USAspending.gov, including searching tips, see CRS In Focus
IF10231, Tracking Federal Awards in States and Congressional Districts Using
USAspending.gov, by Jennifer Teefy.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), a federal entity created by the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) , 1 presents
COVID-19 funding data from USAspending.gov through a variety of interactive visual displays.
The “Track the Money” page features the following:
 Funding Overview includes graphics showing funding by category–such as
state, local, and tribal governments, higher education, and small businesses–and
agency funding by category.

1
T he CARES Act created two additional oversight entities: (1) the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
(SIGPR), which does not appear to have a website but does have a report that is available at https://www.oversight.gov/
report/prig/special-inspector-general-pandemic-recovery-initial-report-congress, and (2) the Congressional Oversight
Commission, at https://coc.senate.gov/.

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Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending

 Funding Charts and Graphs presents obligation and spending data in graphs
and tables from various perspectives, including “Where is the money being
spent?,” “Who is spending the money?,” and “How is the money being spent?”
Users can also filter the data by agency or location (i.e., country, state, county,
city, and zip code).
 Funding Map allows users to view award data by geographic area (state, county,
congressional district, and zip code), award amount, and by funding type. The
map’s zoom tool enables users to focus on data for individual zip codes.
PRAC’s website is integrated with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency’s website, the federal inspector general community’s oversight and coordination body.
For more information, see CRS Insight IN11343, The Pandemic Response Accountability
Committee: Organization and Duties, by Ben Wilhelm.

Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) June 2020 report, COVID-19: Opportunities to
Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts, includes detailed updates on the allocation of
obligated funds within categories such as relief for health care providers, COVID-19 testing,
unemployment insurance, housing protections, and education. See Appendix III for allocation
information. Another GAO report provides an overview of contracting activity related to COVID-
19 and focuses on the agencies that account for most of these obligations. GAO also issued a brief
update on the initial federal response to the pandemic, which includes data as of June 30, 2020,
on federal funding and spending by broad areas, such as business loan programs, unemployment
insurance, and economic impact payments.

COVID-19 Funding by Type of Recipient
State and Local Governments
Coronavirus Relief Fund
The Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) provides $150 billion in direct assistance to state, territorial,
local, and tribal governments based on population. See CRS Report R46298, The Coronavirus
Relief Fund (CARES Act, Title V): Background and State and Local Data, by Grant A. Driessen.
For specific allocations to states, see Table 1. Treasury provides CRF interim reports on
 costs incurred by state and local recipients and the District of Columbia and
territories through June 30, 2020, and
 costs by category incurred by state and local recipients and the District of
Columbia and territories through June 30, 2020.
Additionally, the National Conference of State Legislatures provides descriptions of and links to
state CRF oversight plans and a database detailing state CRF actions.

Unemployment Compensation
Several unemployment relief measures were enacted in response to COVID-19. The Department
of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration provides updated data on funding by state
through each of these programs.

Congressional Research Service 2
Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending

Municipal Liquidity Facility
The Federal Reserve (Fed) established the Municipal Liquidity Facility to help state and local
governments better manage cash flow pressures in order to continue to serve households and
businesses in their communities. See more about this and other Fed programs in the next section,
“Businesses and Nonprofit Organizations.”
State and local budget offices may also be resources for information related to COVID-19
spending; publicly available information may vary from one jurisdiction to another.

Businesses and Nonprofit Organizations
The Small Business Administration (SBA) periodically publishes reports and data on its
programs, including data on approved loans for programs supporting disaster assistance and
recovery:
 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). SBA provides data on the number
and amounts of approved EIDL loans and EIDL Advances (or Emergency EIDL
grants) by state.
 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). SBA provides information on loans of
$150,000 and above, including borrower name, loan amount range, address, and
congressional district. Information on loans of less than $150,000 is also
available, including loan amount, city, state, and congressional district; however,
borrowers’ names are withheld. Additionally, SBA provides the total number and
amounts of approved PPP loans by state.
For information on programs supporting small businesses that are administered from other federal
agencies, see CRS Insight IN11301, Small Businesses and COVID-19: Relief and Assistance
Resources, by Maria Kreiser.
Treasury Department and Federal Reserve programs:
 Treasury’s Payroll Support Program supports passenger air carriers, cargo air
carriers, and certain contractors for continuing payment of employee wages,
salaries, and benefits. Treasury provides data tables on payments to recipients by
city and state.
 Treasury’s Loan Program provides loans to passenger air carriers, cargo air
carriers, and businesses critical to national security. Press releases indicate that
loans to major airlines and companies certified to be critical to maintaining
national security have been approved. Full transaction details are posted on the
Treasury website within 72 hours after a transaction is completed.
 The Federal Reserve (Fed) has access to CARES Act funds to provide
emergency funding, credit, liquidity, and loans to businesses as well as nonprofit
organizations (through the Main Street Lending Program). The Fed’s website
includes reporting on these programs and, in some cases, transaction-specific
disclosures.
For information on Treasury- and Fed-facilitated business assistance programs, see CRS Report
R46329, Treasury and Federal Reserve Financial Assistance in Title IV of the CARES Act (P.L.
116-136), coordinated by Andrew P. Scott; and CRS Insight IN11368, Larger Businesses and
COVID-19: Financial Relief and Assistance Resources, by Julie Jennings.

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Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending

Individuals
The CARES Act includes economic impact payments for individuals and families. Treasury and
the Internal Revenue Service provide data on these payments by state through periodic statements
and announcements; the latest release was on August 28, 2020. See CRS Report R46415, CARES
Act (P.L. 116-136) Direct Payments: Resources and Experts, coordinated by Margot L. Crandall-
Hollick.

Grant Awards on Selected Federal Agency Websites
Several agencies provide information on COVID-19-related grant awards.
 Department of Health and Human Services maintains a COVID-19 funding
overview website that provides details on COVID-19-related grant awards and
allows for filtering by state and city. Each award in the table under the “COVID-
19 Award Details For Emergency Supplemental Appropriation Funding” heading
is linked to one of the funding bills referenced above. The website also provides
state- and city-level funding data for the Provider Relief Fund, Rural Health
Clinic (RHC) COVID-19 Testing Fund, and the Uninsured Relief Fund.
 Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) released details on obligations to each state as of June 9, 2020,
including data on FEMA-coordinated delivery of medical and personal protective
equipment. Additionally, FEMA’s COVID-19 news releases include grant award
announcements.
 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides information
on CARES Act funding at the state, county, and city levels for the Community
Development Block Grant program, the Emergency Solutions Grants program,
and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program. HUD also
announced specific allocations to tribal communities and Fair Housing
Assistance Program agencies.
 Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs provides information on
awards by state/territory, county, and congressional district. Many of the recent
awards include “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in the title.
 Department of Labor (DOL) provides information on approved funding from
Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants, by recipient state agency. DOL’s
Employment and Training Administration announces workforce-related grant
awards via press releases.
 Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration posts press
releases related to CARES Act assistance.
 National Science Foundation identifies COVID-19-related awards in its awards
database by searching for the keywords “covid” or “coronavirus.” Filtering by
state is available.

Other Resources
 Committee for a Responsible Budget’s COVID Money Tracker features papers,
blogs, spreadsheets, data visualizations, and an interactive database for tracking
funds.

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Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending

 Project on Government Oversight’s COVID-19 relief spending tracker
includes an interactive map showing spending by state, county, and zip code, as
well as population breakdowns by race and ethnicity and unemployment rates at
each geographic level. Users can also filter data in table format by location,
recipient, award type, industry, and program.
 Rockefeller Institute of Government’s COVID-19 State Relief Dashboard is an
interactive tool for viewing state allocation data for programs such as CRF and
PPP.
 Peter G. Peterson Foundation tracks funding to each state by major COVID-19
programs, such as economic impact payments, unemployment assistance, and the
Paycheck Protection Program.
 Federal Funds Information for States (FFIS) is a subscription-only service
attempting to track federal funding to states—including funding from the
COVID-19 relief bills. Many state governments subscribe to FFIS. Information is
limited for nonsubscribers.

Author Information

Jennifer Teefy Maria Kreiser
Senior Research Librarian Senior Research Librarian

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 not 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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