After Gov. David Ige was urged by members of the Federal Congressional Delegation, especially Sen. Mazie Hirono, to not forfeit the Federal CARES money, Gov. David Ige announced at a press conference on Wednesday that it will all be spent. The rules for the Federal funding is that it must all be spent by Dec. 30, 2020.
Ige said 98% of the $863 million of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) received by the state in April has been set aside to assist with COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
Gov. Ige added that all remaining CRF funds have been designated and will be used to support the three priority areas of the Hawaiʻi Pandemic Action Plan, which aims to protect public health, revive the economy, and strengthen our community. He said the CRF has already helped to support:
- $100 million for rent and mortgage relief
- $14 million to bring in nurses and healthcare workers from the mainland to support our local healthcare industry
- $10 million for job re-training programs
- $31 million for devices and connectivity to support schools
- $61 million for PPE and supplies for schools, hospitals and businesses
The CRF must be spent by Dec. 30, 2020. Any funds unspent at year’s end will be placed in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund and used to help repay a $1 billion loan that was secured to pay unemployment benefits to local residents.
“The state will not leave any of the federal funding unused as these funds provide a crucial lifeline to our residents and businesses. We are going to use every penny,” said Gov. Ige. “I want to extend my appreciation to the House and the Senate for working closely with my administration, as well as the counties, nonprofit partners and businesses that have stepped up to help get this money disbursed into our community.”
The governor announced that about $5 million of the CRF is being used by the state unemployment office to staff a new 200-person call center, which begins operating Wednesday. There have been numerous complaints about people unable to get their unemployment benefits, or having difficulty filing, and being unable to reach anybody who can help. The Call Center will have some calls being answered in Hawaii, and some on the mainland.
Anne E. Perreira-Eustaquio, director, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the call center will put claimants in contact with a live person who can assist with a claim, resolve issues, answer questions about pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA), and process applications and payments more quickly.
Unemployment Insurance Call Center numbers are:
(833)-901-2272
(833)-901-2275
Serving all claims: regular Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service members (UCX)
A portion of the CRF, $175,323,979, has also been distributed to the neighbor island counties and is already being used to assist individuals, households, businesses, and will also support the reopening of schools and the protection of public health.
Gov. Ige also spoke about the need to get the CRF into the community quickly and to ensure transparency. Jill Tokuda, special advisor to the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative, is monitoring and tracking federal funds awarded to the state with assistance from the State Department of Budget and Finance. To learn more about federal dollars received by Hawaiʻi and grants available under the CARES Act, please visit the State Department of Budget and Finance website at federalawards.hawaii.gov/featured/managing-coronavirus-federal-aid or the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative website at hawaiidata.org.
