S. Con. Res. 5, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2021, instructed several committees of the House of Representatives to recommend legislative changes that would increase deficits up to a specified amount over the 2021-2030 period. As part of this reconciliation process, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved legislation on February 12, 2021, with a number of provisions that would increase deficits.
The legislation would appropriate $350 billion for state, tribes, and local governments to mitigate the fiscal effects stemming from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The legislation also would establish a fund to reimburse federal agencies for emergency leave taken by their employees and provide funds for oversight of the federal government’s response to the pandemic.