Congresswoman Kathy Castor, Mayor Jane Castor and Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers held a news conference in East Tampa on Monday, highlighting the $285 million in federal funds coming to the county and $80 million going directly to the city of Tampa via the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that was signed by President Joe Biden in March.

Every Republican voted against the proposal, and Florida GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott even advocated that mayors and governors should reject and return “any unneeded funds.” 

“I disagree with anyone that says that funding should be given back,” Castor said in response to Scott’s missive. “It should be used appropriately for those needs in cities and counties throughout our nation. And I can tell you without hesitation or doubt that I know every penny of this funding in the Tampa Bay area will be spent appropriately and in the best interests of our community.”

Castor noted that unlike the CARES Act, which passed last year, the American Rescue Plan provides funding directly to counties and mid-sized cities like Tampa (Jacksonville was the only Florida city big enough to qualify for the CARES Act in 2020).

Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise said that she feels a “great responsibility” to Congress and the U.S. taxpayer in ensuring that these federal funds are handled properly.

“Every board meeting that we had, we provided a report. We wanted to be clear and transparent where the money was going,” she said about how the county has distributed earlier Covid relief money coming from Washington.

Also on hand at the press conference were earlier local recipients of federal pandemic relief such as East Tampa hair salon owner Gloria Shellman.

“These funds came in handy,” she said. “They rescued us. They kept our doors open and they still are open now.”

Tampa resident Nicholas Cook is a marketing freelancer who said he stopped getting hired last year when the lockdown began. He said that the county was able to help him with making rental payments after he failed to qualify for other programs that offered assistance.

“This is why I encourage others who may have been turned down to apply for this,” he said.

Although nobody is returning any funds, Republicans have commented that they dislike the provision in the Rescue Plan that prohibits states from using these funds for a tax cut.

“That’s just Big Brother telling you what you have to agree to do,” said Polk County Republican Party Chairman J.C. Martin. 

“I think the $1.9 trillion recovery plan might be more aptly termed the $1.9 trillion dependency plan,” added Bryan Griffin with the Hillsborough County Republican Party. “This is a massive increase in the size and scope of government.” 

The following is the amount of funding each county in the Tampa Bay area will be receiving:

• Citrus - $29 million
• Hernando - $37.6 million
• Hillsborough - $285 million
• Manatee - $78 million
• Pasco - $107 million
• Pinellas - $189 Million
• Polk - $140 million
• Sarasota - $84 million

(Source: U.S. Treasury)