Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and four dozen other attorneys general from around the country want Congress to extend the deadline to use federal COVID-19 relief dollars.

The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter to congressional leaders Monday.

Congress passed the CARES Act in late March, sending trillions of dollars to the states to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. The states are required to spend the money on expenses directly related to battling the virus – and those expenses must be incurred between March 1 and Dec. 30 of this year.

State budget leaders have said for months they’ve asked for more flexibility in those funds, and to extend that deadline. Now, the country’s attorneys general are joining that call.

Their letter calls the Dec. 30 deadline “unreasonable,” as they say it’s clear the pandemic will continue to “challenge” communities well into 2021.

There’s been no indication from Congress for months whether any future COVID-19 relief – or changes to existing funds – are coming.

Indiana received about $2.4 billion in CARES Act money. Hundreds of millions of those dollars are still unspent.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.