Phoenix: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sued the Biden administration on Friday over its demand that the state stop sending millions in federal COVID-19 relief funds to schools that don’t require masks or that are closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Huh.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Phoenix, comes a week after the US Treasury Department demanded that Ducey restructure the $163 million program to weaken public health recommendations or eliminate sanctions facing repayment demands. . The Treasury Department also wants changes to a $10 million program created by Ducey that gives parents money for private school tuition if masks are mandatory in their children’s schools.
Ducey’s lawsuit says the Treasury Department banned Arizona from spending money it received on its own and without legal authority under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Planning Act. It asks a court to declare that the Treasury Department’s rules are illegal and permanently bar enforcement and any demand that it pay back the $173 million spent on the two programs.
Nothing in that underlying statute authorizes the Treasury to condition the use of (ARPA) funds on measures that, in the Treasury’s view, prevent the spread of COVID-19, the lawsuit says. If Congress really intended to give the Treasury the power to give states the power to order public health, and to refill or withhold (money)… it didn’t.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend wearing universal masks in school settings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
By discouraging families and school districts from following this guidance, the conditions outlined above undermine efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Treasury Department wrote in last week’s letter.
The Treasury Department began demanding that Ducey change programs in October. It was part of a concerted effort to coerce Arizona and some other Republican-led states that have opposed masked mandates or using pandemic funds to advance their own agendas to end those practices. Were were
Ducey rejected the Treasury’s request the following month, and last week the Biden administration made a formal demand that it stop using the money for disputed programs, either facing repayment demands or withdrawing the excess money that It is set to achieve under Biden’s COVID relief bill. ,
Friday’s lawsuit said the Treasury Department initially believed states have “broad latitude to choose whether to use[the money]to respond to and address the negative economic impact of COVID-19.” Or not. But then it changed course, and created new rules, the suit said.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new lawsuit.
There are two state programs at issue that the Republican governor created last summer to help schools and students.
The Arizona Education Plus-Up Grant Program provides $163 million in funding to schools in high-income areas that receive less than $1,800 per student in federal virus aid. Districts that require face coverings or have been closed due to the virus outbreak are ineligible.
Another called the COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit Program provides up to $7,000 for parents if their children’s school requires face coverings or quarantines after exposure. It lets parents use the money for private school tuition or other education costs, and its design reflects the states’ existing school voucher program.
In a letter sent last week, the Treasury Department warned that the state had 60 days to remove anti-masking provisions before the federal government could take steps to recover the relief money, and that it also postponed the next tranche of aid. Threatened to withdraw.
Ducey created programs to increase pressure on school districts that had mask mandates or other COVID-19 restrictions, saying they were harming children and parents who have closed schools, Had endured more than a year of distance learning and other restrictions. Provisions in the state budget that statewide school mask mandates were later struck down by the Arizona Supreme Court as being improperly adopted, but Ducey did not change the programs.
Ducey said in August that the safety recommendations are welcomed and the mandate that puts more stress on students and families is encouraged. These grants acknowledge the efforts of schools and teachers who are abiding by state laws and keep their classroom doors open to Arizona students.
Arizona has received almost half of the $4.2 billion awarded under the 2021 coronavirus relief bill, and the Treasury Department said it could withhold payments if Ducey fails to comply with its demands.
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Associated Press reporter Fatima Hussain contributed from Washington.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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