Gov. Wolf, NJ Gov. Murphy make plea for federal COVID-19 aid
The governors of Pennsylvania and New Jersey joined forces Monday, calling for the federal government to pass a COVID-19 relief package that contains state and local aid to give millions of Americans the help they need during this second surge of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf made the case in a virtual news conference Monday morning that state and local aid is a necessary component of any potential relief package and said it is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’ s obstruction of meaningful relief that is jeopardizing essential jobs and services and threatens the broad distribution of a vaccine for millions.
The $900 billion package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers all but collapsed Thursday after McConnell said Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential tradeoff in the deal, Associated Press reported last week.
But the governors said this aid is needed now.
Murphy said this relief will “give us a bridge over troubled water.” It would not be a light switch, or an immediate fix, but such a package would carry people who are struggling economically to the better days ahead when the economy begins to recover and a coronavirus vaccine is widely available to the public.
Wolf said the federal government needs to do the right thing and pass meaningful relief now. “Right now, I am deeply disappointed with our federal government and with the Republicans in the federal government,” Wolf said, “At every stage of this pandemic, Republican leaders at the federal level have not been there to support the people of this country. Their leadership has been weak or even lacking.”
He said the coronavirus relief act passed earlier this year was incredibly successful and provided support in a time in need, but he added the crisis has not abated and the country is in the second surge. Americans need that aid once again, he said
While governors have done what they can to support the people of their states, Wolf said, another round of aid is needed from the federal level for front-line workers, schools and small businesses, and for funding a successful distribution of the vaccine.
He added that, in particular, more funding is needed for the restaurant and bar industry.
Wolf last week put additional restrictions on restaurants, banning indoor dining until Jan .4. While many restaurants have said they are not going to comply with the measure and that it would be economically devastating for them to do so, Wolf said today it was a necessary step.
“They have been battered by this pandemic through no fault of their own,” Wolfsaid. “Thenature of this disease cuts right into the heart of the restaurant and bar industry.”
Wolf said mitigation measures may save lives, but they also hurt workers, the economy and businesses like restaurants and bars, which is why the federal government should give them a lifeline.
“It’s disgraceful that right now, in the midst of the worst surge of COVID-19 that our country has seen to date, when record numbers of Americans are dying or being hospitalized or are catching this disease, ourfederal leaders seem to be incapable of providing Americans with desperately needed support,” Wolf said.
The end of the pandemic is in sight, he added, but it will be a difficult few months with much more suffering if the aid doesn’t come through now.
“We need a comprehensive relief package right now, and we need an aid package that provides support for state andlocal governments,” Wolf said. “We need help for businesses. We need help for individual American families.”