The latest federal COVID-19 stimulus package allocates $19.53 billion to support tens of thousands of small local governments across the country. But with difficult rules to follow and small staffs to make sure the money is being used correctly, spending these relief funds will be difficult for many small towns and counties.
I spoke with CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O'Keefe about my reporting on this issue. The money going towards small localities is so much more than they're used to receiving, they'd have to go through unprecedented efforts to keep track of it all. It's prompting questions about whether towns and counties with normally small budgets even want to deal with the federal funding at all.