How Colorado Plans To Spend $3.88 Billion Received From The American Rescue Act

DENVER (CBS4)- Colorado's Democratic Congressional Delegation joined state lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis on the steps of the state Capitol on Monday morning. They discussed how they will spend the $3.88 billion the state received from the American Rescue Act.

The Congressional Delegation included Rep. Diana DeGette, Rep. Joe Neguse, Rep. Ed Perlmutter and Rep. Jason Crow.

Polis said the plan is to divide the money to tackle three priorities.

"Support for workforce development, support for reducing housing costs, and mental and behavioral health," said Polis. "Finally a third of the funding will go towards recovery and relief to create jobs for Coloradans in need that includes modernizing our transportation system, resulting in a $5 billion investment in infrastructure in years with some of these one-time funds as a catalyst."

"With thousands of people across our state still out of work, and many more families still struggling to make ends meet, the help that's coming our way as a result of the American Rescue Plan couldn't come soon enough," said DeGette. "This funding will help families and businesses alike. It will put money in people's pockets and shots in their arms. And it will keep people in their homes, get them back to work, and help us build a foundation to build back even better than we were before."

The other third will go into the state budget to help shore up the ongoing financial needs of Colorado.

Here's a breakdown of the funding from the governor's office:

• $1 billion will go toward fortifying the state budget and maintaining fiscal integrity
• $300 million will go towards Colorado's ongoing response to the COVID pandemic
• Between $400-$550 million will go towards affordable housing and homeownership efforts
• Between $400-$550 million towards mental and behavioral health programs
• Approximately $200 million towards workforce development and education
• Approximately $817 million will be for economic recovery and relief
• $404- $414 million for transportation and infrastructure, and parks and agriculture