Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik sent two letters to House and Senate Leadership requesting expansions and improvements within the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) to help communities cope with and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The first letter requests that the NBRC have the discretion to allow projects to access up to 100% federal funding, for projects where the funding match has been impacted by COVID-19. The second letter calls for additional resources in a future legislative relief package to ensure the NBRC can help communities fund and complete their existing projects, respond to new challenges that arise, and build for a post-pandemic economy.
“Many communities in the North Country benefit from the important programs and projects that are completed with NBRC funding,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many of these projects have lost their local funding and are at risk. The wide-ranging economic effects of COVID-19 are likely to pose a threat for some of our most rural and economically distressed communities who rely on NBRC funding for infrastructure development, broadband planning and connectivity, and revolving loans. I sent these letters along with my colleagues to urge leadership to provide additional resources for NBRC funding, and I will continue to advocate for our communities who will continue to rely on this funding to respond to the public health crisis.”
