Trust Funds. Consistent with the approach taken in the CRF, recipients may make deposits into the state account of the Unemployment Trust Fund established under section 904 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1104) up to the level needed to restore the pre- pandemic balances of such account as of January 27, 2020 or to pay back advances received under Title XII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1321) for the payment of benefits between January 27, 2020 and May 17, 2021, given the close nexus between Unemployment Trust Fund costs, solvency of Unemployment Trust Fund systems, and pandemic economic impacts. Further, Unemployment Trust Fund deposits can decrease fiscal strain on Unemployment Insurance systems impacted by the pandemic. States facing a sharp increase in Unemployment Insurance claims during the pandemic may have drawn down positive Unemployment Trust Fund balances and, after exhausting the balance, required advances to fund continuing obligations to claimants. Because both of these impacts were driven directly by the need for assistance to unemployed workers during the pandemic, replenishing Unemployment Trust Funds up to the pre-pandemic level responds to the pandemic’s negative economic impacts on unemployed workers. • Assistance to Households. Assistance to households or populations facing negative economic impacts due to COVID–19 is also an eligible use. This includes: Food assistance; rent, mortgage, or utility assistance; counseling and legal aid to prevent eviction or homelessness; cash assistance (discussed below); emergency assistance for burials, home repairs, weatherization, or other needs; internet access or digital literacy assistance; or job training to address negative economic or public health impacts experienced due to a worker’s occupation or level of training. As discussed above, in considering whether a potential use is eligible under this category, a recipient must consider whether, and the extent to which, the household has experienced a negative economic impact from the pandemic. In assessing whether a household or population experienced economic harm as a result of the pandemic, a recipient may presume that a household or population that experienced unemployment or increased food or housing insecurity or is low- or moderate-income experienced negative economic impacts resulting from the pandemic. For example, a cash transfer program may focus on unemployed workers or low- and moderate-income families, which have faced disproportionate economic xxxxx due to the pandemic. Cash transfers must be reasonably proportional to the negative economic impact they are intended to address. Cash transfers grossly in excess of the amount needed to address the negative economic impact identified by the recipient would not be considered to be a response to the COVID–19 public health emergency or its negative impacts. In particular, when considering the appropriate size of permissible cash transfers made in response to the COVID–19 public health emergency, State, local and Tribal governments may consider and take guidance from the per person amounts previously provided by the Federal Government in response to the COVID–19 crisis. Cash transfers that are grossly in excess of such amounts would be outside the scope of eligible uses under sections 602(c)(1)(A) and 603(c)(1)(A) and could be subject to recoupment. In addition, a recipient could provide survivor’s benefits to surviving family members of COVID–19 victims, or cash assistance to widows, widowers, and dependents of eligible COVID–19 victims. • Expenses to Improve Efficacy of
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Samples: Funding Agreement, Funding Agreement, Funding Agreement
