FACT BRIEF

Did Iowa return $95 million in coronavirus relief money to the federal government?

Thursday, May 6, 2021

By Austin Tannenbaum

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YES

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sent back more than $95 million in federal aid granted for “surveillance testing” in Iowa schools.

In a letter to the Centers for Disease Control, the state’s public health department stated that Iowa “has ample funding and testing capacity available to school districts in Iowa” and “will be declining the funding...in the amount of $95,029,161.”

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a Republican, stated that the money came with “strings attached” and that “with the federal debt out of control...if we're not going to use it in the right ways, we shouldn't be spending it.”

State Auditor Rob Sand objected to the decision, highlighting that the “money could have created hundreds of strong-paying jobs to administer and assist in testing at schools.”

In the same letter, IDPH reported that it already has about $1.4 billion that could be used to fund testing.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Iowa Department of Public Health Letter to CDC declining relief aid

KCCI Des Moines Iowa returns $95 million in pandemic aid for schools

US Department of Health and Human Services Biden administration to invest more than $12 billion to expand COVID-19 testing

Des Moines Register Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds returns $95 million from federal government for COVID testing in school

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