Dear USET/USET SPF Family,

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has extended the deadlines for Tribal Nations to submit and confirm information to receive funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF). Treasury is extending these deadlines for the second time. The previous deadlines for Tribal Nations to submit information to the Treasury Submission Portal were June 7, and June 21, 2021, for the first FRF payment and the second FRF payment, respectively. 

The new, extended deadlines are now June 21, 2021 at 11:59pm Pacific Time to receive the first FRF payment, and July 9, 2021 at 11:59pm Pacific Time to confirm 2019 employment numbers for the second FRF payment. Please note that Treasury has not yet invited Tribal Nations to confirm employment numbers for the second FRF payment. Treasury will be providing further outreach for the second payment shortly.

Any questions regarding the Treasury Submission Portal should be emailed to covidreliefitsupport@treasury.gov. For general FRF questions please email SLFRFP@treasury.gov, and for more information on the FRF please visit Treasury's website by clicking here.

Background on the ARPA Fiscal Recovery Fund

Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) $20 billion was allocated to Tribal Nations and the first FRF payment of $1 billion will be distributed equally to each Tribal Nation based on Tribal Nation enrollment data submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in April 2021.

Treasury has determined that the allocation methodology for the remaining $19 billion of FRF funds will provide 65% ($12.35 billion) of the funds to be distributed via the first payment based on self-certified Tribal enrollment data with the remaining 35% ($6.65 billion) to be distributed via the second payment based on self-certified Tribal employment data. Once Tribal Nations have submitted their information through the Treasury Submission Portal, Treasury has stated that it will take approximately 4-5 business days to review and process and the point of contact that a Tribal government designates in its online submission will receive status updates. that a Tribal government designates in its online submission will receive status updates.

On Treasury's website the eligible uses for FRF funds includes support for public health expenditures, addressing negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, replace lost public sector revenue, provide premium pay for essential workers, and to invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. Treasury has also recognized that Tribal governments must have broad flexibility to decide how best to use FRF funding to address COVID-19 impacts on their communities and have expanded eligible uses to also include: addressing health disparities and the social determinants of health; building stronger neighborhoods and communities; addressing education disparities exacerbated by COVID-19; and promoting healthy childhood environments. To view the latest Treasury FRF Frequently Asked Questions document (last updated June 10, 2021), please click here.

For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.