Coronavirus News Coverage on State and Local Fiscal Crisis Highlights NEMWI's Research
News coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its broader consequences for the region has included reference to the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the public finance work of NEMWI Senior Fellow Thomas Cochran. An article in The New York Times on Wednesday cited the concept paper calling for the Federal Reserve Bank and U.S. Treasury to go beyond current coronavirus stimulus legislation by replacing non-recoverable state and local revenue shortfalls resulting from coronavirus mitigation efforts.
The New York Times article by Mary Williams Walsh can be found here.
The concept paper by Mr. Cochran on the need to replace non-recoverable state and local revenue shortfalls is available on the NEMWI website here.
Coronavirus Crisis Causing Major Revenue Shortfalls in States, Cities
The continuing coronavirus crisis is being accompanied by looming major revenue shortfalls in states and cities nationwide. The Northeast-Midwest Institute released a concept paper on April 13 highlighting the urgent need for federal action to replace non-recoverable state and local revenue shortfalls resulting from COMID-19 mitigation initiatives, which is available here.
Governors, mayors, and local officials increasingly are sounding the alarm that they already have major revenue gaps due to business closures and unemployment, and that these revenue shortfalls are projected to grow in the weeks and months ahead.
A selection of news articles reporting these state and local revenue gaps follows:
Congress Continues to Negotiate Another Relief Package for Small Businesses and Healthcare Providers
Congressional leaders, along with top Administration officials continue to negotiate a relief package aimed to support small businesses that have been shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, while also providing additional federal funds, hospitals and additional COVID-19 testing.
Last Thursday, funding for the newly created Payment Protection Program, a program aimed at supplementing salaries and expenses through forgivable loans for small businesses that have had to shutdown due to the pandemic, was exhausted, leading to the Administration to request an additional $250 billion for the program. While details of the pending agreement have yet to be released, it has been reported that a final package could include an additional $300 billion for the program, with $50 billion more going towards a small business disaster fund, and $75 billion going directly to hospitals and $25 billion for additional COVID-19 testing.
Congress could approve such a package as early as this week.
This Week in Washington
Normally scheduled House and Senate meetings have been curtailed due to the ongoing response to COVID-19.
NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
