Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday pushed Congress to pass more stimulus relief to support states that have been economically harmed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release.
In a joint statement, the pair wrote that states need at least $500 billion to take the place of lost revenues from the pandemic.
"Each day that Congress fails to act, states are being forced to make cuts that will devastate the essential services the American people rely on and destroy the economic recovery before it even gets off the ground," Hogan, a Republican, and Cuomo, a Democrat, wrote.
On Tuesday, House Democrats rolled out a $3 trillion stimulus package that would set aside $916 billion for state and local government funding.
"With widespread bipartisan agreement on the need for this assistance, we cannot afford a partisan process that turns this urgent relief into another political football. This is not a red state or blue state crisis. This is a red white and blue pandemic. The coronavirus is apolitical. It does not attack Democrats or Republicans. It attacks Americans," the two governors wrote.
Republicans have ripped any perceived attempt to salvage the ailing economies of blue states, many of which have hit the biggest economic slumps.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said bailing these states out is "exactly the wrong approach" and would rather see the state and local aid combined with a bill that would protect businesses that want to reopen from and coronavirus-related lawsuits.
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