Opinion | Treasury’s Hidden Stash of Covid Cash

If you thought Washington’s pandemic-cash bonanza was behind us, keep an eye on the Treasury Department. The Biden Administration made a quiet move late last month to let states spend up to $90 billion of leftover “emergency” money.

The rule change pushes back the deadline for states to claim cash from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, a pandemic aid giveaway that President Biden set up through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. The law set aside $350 billion for Covid-related spending until the end of 2024. Now Treasury plans to give out unspent cash beyond next year, as long as states say what they’ll spend it on by April.