A bill in Congress championed by Rep. Tom Reed would limit how New York state would be able to spend any federal aid earmarked for localities, the congressman told Spectrum News.

The SMART Act, which isn't a part of the HEALS Act currently in negotiations in the Senate, would provide state, county, and municipal governments with $500 billion in targeted financial aid. It would also use "maintenance of effort" language to ensure the state government couldn't use the federal funds to essentially replace the money it traditionally gives to local governments.

"It ensures the money actually reaches the folks who need it most, and that funds won’t be used to address non-COVID related problems,” said Reed, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Political anchor Susan Arbetter spoke with Congressman Reed about both his childcare bill on Capital Tonight, as well as the SMART Act, which he worked on with Democrats and Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Story correction: A previous version of this story mistakenly identified Senator Bill Cassidy's political party affiliation. It has been updated to reflect that of the Republican Party.