Local governments are spending billions of pandemic relief funds, but some report few specifics

Federal officials estimate that local governments now have spending plans in place for most of the money they received under a prominent pandemic relief law. The American Rescue Plan, passed two years ago, provided $350 billion of flexible aid to be divided among thousands of governments. Those governments had spent just 43% of that money as of this spring. But the White House says governments have spending commitments in place for over 80% of the money. In some cases, it's hard to know exactly how the money is being used, because some governments haven't supplied details about their projects.