Many cities and counties say that shoring up local public health systems is crucial to recovering from the pandemic and addressing entrenched health disparities.
States pushed back on a plan to take back some of their stimulus money to fund President Biden’s emergency spending request. Now Congress is trying to find other ways to offset the cost.
Officials say demand has slowed as coronavirus cases have fallen. But some experts question the scaling back of services, especially vaccination campaigns.
An influx of federal funds may have saved the M.T.A. and staved off painful budget cuts in Albany and New York City. There’s a fight over what comes next.