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- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Treasury has extended the deadline for submission of Tribal Employment and Expenditure Information to 12 noon – EDT on Friday, May 29, 2020 by federally recognized tribes. This information is needed to determine the second distribution of the Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The extension was made due to tribes having difficulty accessing information and data needed because of tribal offices closed due to the COVI-19 pandemic.
Tribes must provide the Treasury Department with employment data for both tribal government and tribal enterprises for calendar year 2019 along with fiscal year 2019 tribal government expenditures. Instructions on how to access the electronic form have been provided to tribal entities that need to submit supplemental information.
Information submitted by tribes will be used to determine the distribution of the remaining 40 percent of the $8 billion—or $3.2 billion—Coronavirus Relief Fund. All applications must be submitted through this form by the deadline.
“Several Tribes have reported the following difficulties in completing these submissions: (a) a storm in Alaska over the weekend resulted in widespread power outages throughout the State; and (b) the closure of offices as a result of COVID-19 has made it difficult for Tribes to access financial statements and tax forms that are saved on office computers,” Daniel Kowalski, the Counselor to Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnunchin reported to a federal judge on Tuesday.
Several tribes informed the Treasury Department of their difficulties via email according to Kowalski.
A plan to release the CARES Act funds was released on May 5, 2020 by the Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of the Interior. On that date, the funds were nine days late from what the CARES Act called for in the legislation.
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