Western States Pact Urges $1 trillion in Federal Support for States and Cities Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic
Statement
In a letter to Congressional leadership, governors and legislative leaders from five western states requested $1 trillion in direct and flexible relief to states and local governments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to preserve core government services like public health, public safety and public education, and help people get back to work.
"There is no time to waste and we can overcome the widespread economic pain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, together. I urge Congress to quickly take up and pass a new stimulus package to provide relief to Colorado's communities hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. A robust, flexible federal response to this pandemic is critical to our state's recovery and our and country as a whole," said Gov. Polis.
"Without additional flexible aid from the federal government, our state will be forced to make the deepest budget cuts we have ever seen. Congress must help our communities, both big and small, avoid the devastating impacts of these cuts," said Speaker Becker, D-Boulder. "These cuts would hurt vulnerable populations and further impact our already underfunded schools and institutions of higher education, which still haven't recovered from the last recession. We are going to prioritize education and critical public health and safety programs as we work to ease how painful this budget may be, but without federal support there's only so much we can do."
"States all over the country have been devastated by coronavirus with thousands of lives lost and millions suffering from unemployment. But theses are just the immediate impacts. The longer, more insidious effects of the pandemic will ripple out for years to come, as state infrastructure crumbles from lack of funding," said Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo. "We need the Federal Government to step up and provide immediate relief to state and local governments or millions more will suffer as essential services are eroded. Coloradans are deeply resilient people, and I know that with the right help we can get through this together."
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