Pelosi: States, cities seeking $1T to avoid layoffs amid virus
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that state and local governments are seeking up to $1 trillion for coronavirus costs, a stunning benchmark for the next aid package that’s certain to run into opposition from Senate Republicans.
Pelosi acknowledged the federal government may not be able to provide that much. But she said money for “heroes” is needed to prevent layoffs as governors and mayors stare down red ink in their budgets. Many jurisdictions are facing rising costs from the health pandemic and plummeting revenues in the economic shutdown. The best way Americans can support front-line community workers, Pelosi said, is to make sure they don’t lose their jobs to budget cuts.
“This is something of the highest priority,” Pelosi said. “It honors our heroes.”
Nurses, transit bus drivers and other workers “are risking their lives to save lives, and now they’re going to lose their jobs,” she said.
The $1 trillion price tag comes after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shifted his tone, suggesting he is “open” to considering additional funds in the next coronavirus relief bill.
But the eye-popping figure would be on top of the nearly $3 trillion Congress has already approved to salvage the economy and confront the health crisis.
At the White House, President Donald Trump said, “We’ll see what happens. If we do that, we’ll have to get something for it.”
As the new aid package takes shape, McConnell said Thursday on Fox that he’s willing to consider money for the states but isn’t about to send federal dollars to bail out overspending.
“We’re not interested in borrowing money from future generations to send down to states to help them with bad decisions they made in the past unrelated to the coronavirus epidemic,” the GOP leader said.
McConnell insists any fresh funding must be tied to liability reforms to prevent what he calls “an epidemic of lawsuits” against doctors, hospitals and businesses reopening in the pandemic.
In meeting with Trump at the White House, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said his state alone may need $20 billion to $30 billion.
“This is a big hit,” Murphy said. “We don’t see it as a bailout.”