The Ambiguity Rule: Pennhurst, Dole, and the American Rescue Plan Act

I. INTRODUCTIONThe COVID-19 pandemic had many effects on society.Businesses shut down; bankruptcies increased in number; unemployment soared; rents went unpaid. 1 This Comment concerns a law arising out of the economic challenges wrought by that pandemic, 2 the enforceability of one of its provisions, 3 and the constitutional questions it continues to raise. 4 In 2021, Congress passed, and President Joseph R. Biden signed into law, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).That law offered