House Appropriations reviews ARPA spending; administration reverts $26.4 million to reduce risk

Montpelier — State officials told the Vermont House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 14, 2025, that the bulk of the state's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) award has been obligated and that the administration has reversed some ARPA appropriations and “cured” other awards into general funds to reduce the risk of federal recapture.

Emily Byrne, senior staff at the Joint Fiscal Office, opened the committee's ARPA briefing with an overview of the program and its deadlines and said Vermont received roughly $1.04 billion under the state fiscal recovery fund, while noting earlier characterizations of “a little more than $1 billion.” Byrne said, “We got a lot of money, thanks to Senator Leahy and the small state minimum.”

Why it matters: the U.S. Treasury required ARPA obligations to be made by Dec. 31, 2024, and expenditures to be completed by Dec. 31, 2026. State presenters said meeting the obligation deadline — committing funds by contract or grant — avoided immediate federal recapture, and the administration’s December actions aimed to reduce the amount at risk before the 2026 expenditure deadline.

Chief recovery officer Douglas Farnham, who leads the state's ARPA implementation, told the committee the administration reviewed appropriations and reverted about $26.4 million that it judged unlikely to be liquidated in time. “Everything Emily said is accurate,”…