Gov: Feds’ virus funds ‘insufficient’
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo called the $35 million approved by Congress to help New York combat coronavirus “insufficient.”
The governor scoffed at the sum, part of an $8.3 billion federal allocation, as he provided an update Thursday on the state’s efforts to control the quickly spreading illness.
“The states are on the front lines here,” Cuomo said. “Look at what we’re doing. You don’t see any federal officials running around here, taking samples or doing anything else. So it’s all managed, all administered by the states.”
New York is currently dealing with 22 positive cases of the respiratory disease, formally known as COVID-19, including three in the city, one on Long Island and 18 in Westchester.
“They are making a big deal out of the supplemental,” Cuomo said, noting that Vice President Mike Pence, who has been coordinating the federal response, promised to back states dealing with outbreaks.
“The vice president said, ‘don’t worry, I’ll make sure the states get the funds they need’ because he was a former governor and New York State gets $35 million? We, on our own, allocated $40 million.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) touted the funds a day earlier, telling the Daily News he had locked in $16.9 million in emergency cash for the city and another $16.7 million for the state.
The federal funds are intended to cover lab testing, virus monitoring, infection control and mitigation, virus preparedness, and reimbursements for local hospitals and agencies dealing with the coronavirus outbreak across New York, Schumer’s office said.
“Our point is that if this emergency continues for weeks we will be spending much more than that,” Cuomo budget director Robert Mujica added.
Earlier in the day, Mayor de Blasio also took a shot at the federal response, saying that the number of tests provided to the state has been woefully low.
The governor also admitted that the ongoing global epidemic is taking his attention away from state budget negotiations as he called his handling the response “a management logistical monster” and “all-consuming.”