Overview

Title

To extend the obligation deadline of funds made available to recipients under the American Rescue Plan Act for the purposes of supporting homeless children and youth.

ELI5 AI

This bill wants to give people more time to use special money to help homeless kids and teens, making sure they can still use it until September 2025.

Summary AI

S. 4573 aims to extend the deadline for using funds allocated under the American Rescue Plan Act specifically for helping homeless children and youth. This bill allows these funds to remain available to certain recipients until September 30, 2025, regardless of any other laws. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Ms. Murkowski and a few other senators and was sent to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for further consideration.

Published

2024-06-18
Congress: 118
Session: 2
Chamber: SENATE
Status: Introduced in Senate
Date: 2024-06-18
Package ID: BILLS-118s4573is

Keywords AI

american rescue plan act homeless children youth support funds extension senate bill s. 4573 public law 117-2 education health and human services accountability fund allocation

Sources

Bill Statistics

Size

Sections:
1
Words:
195
Pages:
2
Sentences:
9

Language

Nouns: 67
Verbs: 16
Adjectives: 10
Adverbs: 1
Numbers: 7
Entities: 19

Complexity

Average Token Length:
4.57
Average Sentence Length:
21.67
Token Entropy:
4.32
Readability (ARI):
14.45

AnalysisAI

Bill Summary

The proposed legislation, designated as S. 4573, aims to extend the deadline for using funds allocated under the American Rescue Plan Act specifically for helping homeless children and youth. This extension is slated to last until September 30, 2025. As proposed by Senators Murkowski, Manchin, Sullivan, and Sinema, the bill seeks to keep these financial resources available beyond current deadlines, ensuring entities can continue to use these funds for the intended purposes without facing the pressure of an expiring deadline.

Significant Issues

Several issues accompany this legislative proposal. Firstly, the extended availability of funds until the aforementioned future date could lead to inefficient use of resources. Stretching the timeline might result in delays in effectively addressing the immediate needs of homeless children and youth, which counteracts the urgency meant to be addressed by such funds.

Moreover, the bill does not mention any specific oversight or reporting requirements. This absence could lead to a lack of accountability, with no mechanism to ensure the funds are used properly and achieve the intended impact.

There is also ambiguity in the language regarding which entities are allowed to receive these funds. This lack of clarity might result in confusion or misinterpretation, leaving room for potential misallocation of resources.

Lastly, the text does not specify the amount of funds available, making it difficult to evaluate the potential for wasteful spending. Without this critical detail, it's challenging to assess the scale of impact or inefficiencies that might arise from the fund's extended availability.

Potential Impact on the Public

By allowing funds to remain available for a longer period, the bill could ensure sustained support for programs assisting homeless children and youth. This extended financial support is crucial in addressing the long-term repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable populations.

However, without clear guidelines and oversight, there is a risk that the funds might not reach those most in need promptly. If utilized effectively, these funds can provide essential services such as educational support, housing stability, and health services, all critical to helping vulnerable youth transition out of homelessness.

Impact on Stakeholders

Positive Impacts:
- For organizations serving homeless children and youth, this bill provides an extended financial cushion that can help sustain important programs. - Families and children experiencing homelessness may see long-term benefits from sustained programs funded by these resources.

Negative Impacts:
- Without new oversight measures, stakeholders may worry about the potential misuse or inefficient use of these resources. - Potential confusion about which entities can receive the funds could cause delays in fund allocation, reducing the intended assistance's effectiveness.

The proposed extension of the funds' availability period could serve as both a boone and a challenge, depending on how the associated issues of clarity, oversight, and effectiveness are managed. While the intent to support those in need is evident, the bill would better serve its purpose with clearer directives and accountability measures.

Issues

  • The section allows funds to remain available for a long period (until September 30, 2025), which could lead to inefficient use or delays in addressing immediate needs. [Section 1]

  • The section does not specify any particular oversight or reporting requirement, which could result in lack of accountability in how funds are spent. [Section 1]

  • The language is somewhat unclear about which entities specifically are eligible to receive funds, potentially leading to confusion or misinterpretation. [Section 1]

  • The text does not identify the amount of funds made available, which makes it difficult to evaluate potential for wasteful spending. [Section 1]

Sections

Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.

1. Supporting homeless children and youth Read Opens in new tab

Summary AI

Funds provided under a specific section of Public Law 117-2 to assist homeless children and youth can be used by the assigned entities until September 30, 2025, regardless of other laws.