The Department of the Treasury announced an extension for tribal governments to submit funding requests for their Capital Projects Fund. All applications must now be submitted by October 14, 2022.
The American Rescue Plan provides $10 billion for payments to eligible governments to carry out critical capital projects that directly enable work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the public health emergency. With that funding, the Department of the Treasury announced that “The Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (Capital Projects Fund) will address many challenges laid bare by the pandemic, especially in rural America, Tribal communities, and low- and moderate-income communities, helping to ensure that all communities have access to the high-quality modern infrastructure, including broadband, needed to access critical services.”
According to the Department, the Capital Projects Fund is set up to address the following goals:
- Directly support recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency by strengthening and improving the infrastructure necessary for participation in work, education, and health monitoring that will last beyond the pandemic.
- Enable investments in capital assets designed to address inequities in access to critical services.
- Contribute to the Administration’s goal of providing every American with the modern infrastructure necessary to access critical services, including a high-quality and affordable broadband internet connection.
ELIGIBLE PROJECTS
For a capital project to be an eligible use of Capital Projects Fund grant funds, it must meet all of the following criteria:
- The capital project invests in capital assets designed to directly enable work, education, and health monitoring.
- The capital project is designed to address a critical need that resulted from or was made apparent or exacerbated by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
- The capital project is designed to address a critical need of the community to be served by it.
The following capital projects are identified in the Capital Projects Fund Guidance as being eligible uses of Capital Projects Fund grant funding:
- Broadband Infrastructure Projects: the construction and deployment of broadband infrastructure designed to deliver service that reliably meets or exceeds symmetrical speeds of 100Mbps so that communities have future-proof infrastructure to serve their long-term needs.
- Digital Connectivity Technology Projects: the purchase or installation of devices and equipment, such as laptops, tablets, desktop personal computers, and public Wi-Fi equipment, to facilitate broadband internet access for communities where affordability is a barrier to broadband adoption and use.
- Multi-Purpose Community Facility Projects: the construction or improvement of buildings designed to jointly and directly enable work, education, and health monitoring located in communities with critical need for the project.
The new deadline for applications for tribes is October 14, 2022.
RESOURCES
