Rep. Cleaver Pushes Treasury To Include Kansas City In COVID-19 Relief Fund

(Kansas City, MO) - Today, United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) urged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to provide Kansas City with direct funding from the $150 billion COVID-19 Relief Fund set up for states and major cities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

"As the largest city in Missouri—with a recently estimated population above 505,000—Kansas City meets the criteria for the Coronavirus Relief Fund. It is precisely the kind of vulnerable urban locality these critical funds were intended for when Congress passed the bill last week," said Congressman Cleaver. "With the number of cases in Missouri continuing to rise, these funds are crucial to the city's fight to protect our most defenseless populations, while providing the local healthcare system the tools it needs to care for those who will fall ill."

In the letter, Cleaver wrote:

"I write to ensure that the Department of Treasury, in the implementation of the CARES Act (H.R. 748) Title VI Coronavirus Relief Fund, provides Kansas City, Missouri its appropriate support. This important provision will offer necessary relief to a city beset by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and provide the assistance Congress intended they receive when drafting and voting on this measure…As drafted, the provision was intended to distinctly assist large urbanized areas, with a population density that makes these communities distinctly susceptible to the health crisis we currently face—urbanized areas such as Kansas City."

Title VI of the CARES Act created the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which offers $150 billion in rapid assistance to states and localities across the nation to meet the funding needs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The population threshold for localities to receive direct funding from the $150 billion fund is 500,000 people, considering large, urbanized areas are more susceptible to the spread and financial strain of coronavirus. If a locality does not meet that threshold, the funding is sent to the state to distribute as they see fit. Missouri is currently set to receive roughly $3.25 billion from the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

According to the 2018 Census, taken nearly two years ago, Kansas City had a population of almost 492,000 people. Today, it's clear that Kansas City meets the 500,000 population threshold, however there was no Census count in 2019, and the 2020 Census is currently underway. Because there is no official Census stating Kansas City's current population figures, Cleaver is calling for the Treasury to work with the municipal government and Mid-America Regional Council to certify Kansas City's greater than 500,000 population and ensure the city gets the direct funding it is entitled to under the CARES Act. As the CARES Act requires a swift dispersal of these funds, Cleaver is asking for an expedited processing of their request.

You can find Cleaver's full letter here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. For more information, please contact Matthew Helfant at 202-225-4535 or Matthew.Helfant@mail.house.gov A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.