Burns: Cambria County to get $11.75 million in funding for COVID-19

EBENSBURG, June 1 – State Rep. Frank Burns announced that thanks to a bill he voted for, more than $11 million in federal funding has been earmarked for Cambria County in the form of a COVID Relief County Block Grant.

Burns voted for H.B. 2510 last week, which established how the state would use the $2.6 billion it received from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

“This is welcome news for Cambria County,” said Burns, D-Cambria. “The money must be distributed to the county on or before July 15, so the county will be able to get to work in helping our economy recover.”

The county is required to use the $11.75 million for COVID relief:

  • To offset costs of direct county emergency response, including personal protection equipment, or PPE.
  • Small business assistance.
  • Programs to support local economic development entities for costs related to the emergency.
  • Assistance to cities, boroughs, towns and townships for costs related to the emergency.
  • Behavioral health, and drug and alcohol abuse treatment services.
  • Nonprofit assistance programs.
  • Broadband internet deployment.

“This will be a big help to our communities who had to deal with the pandemic on the ground, and those small businesses who didn’t receive any money from the federally sponsored programs set up by the CARES Act, especially those related to the tourism industry,” he said. “It also will help address areas that do not have broadband service or are underserved.

“Especially now that Cambria County is slated to move to the green phase of reopening on Friday, we can begin to rebuild our economy and get our lives back on track.”