House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is apparently not believing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s claim that the coronavirus aid package proposed by Congressional Democrats would not provide sufficient relief for the Empire State.
The speaker this week sent a letter to New York Democratic congressmen, praising the $ 50 billion federal proposal for state and local funding for New York, as well as $ 20 billion to “support health, financial security and well-being. of families “.
The proposed amount far exceeds the $ 15 billion that the governor has repeatedly said the state needs to close the New York budget gap, according to the Times Union of Albany, NY, which covers the state capital region. The newspaper said it obtained a copy of Pelosi’s letter.
“Unfortunately, we see more than 1.5 million cases of coronavirus, nearly 45,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of job losses in New York,” writes Pelosi. “Know that your concerns are being addressed in the way that you have advanced and with the enthusiastic defense of leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.”
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The Times Union called the letter a “rare reprimand” by Pelosi, who is generally closely linked to Cuomo.
The proposed aid, which would include more than $ 12 billion for schools, $ 8 billion for transit and $ 3 billion for Medicaid, would likely help prevent possible budget cuts that Cuomo had threatened, according to the New York Daily News.
New York City Democrats sent a letter to Pelosi two days earlier asking for adequate funding, and Cuomo sent a letter to state lawmakers last week demanding at least $ 15 billion in direct relief, according to the Times Union.
Cuomo reiterated the $ 15 billion figure this week, when a legislative collapse showed that New York would receive only about $ 12.7 billion in direct funding to the state government.
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Pelosi’s letter arrived Thursday, the day before Cuomo and other governors met with President Biden to discuss the Democrats’ $ 1.9 trillion aid package.
After the meeting, Cuomo, president of the National Governors Association, in a joint letter with Arkansas vice president Gov. Asa Hutchinson, said: “The president and his team have made it clear that they recognize and appreciate how critical this targeted relief is to our ability to recover from this pandemic, “according to Buffalo News.
Republicans have criticized the Democrats’ aid plan, which could go through party lines. New York Republican Tom Reed said he prioritized “the extreme left over bipartisan commitment”, according to Time Union.
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The governor’s office indicated to the Times Union the statement about the White House meeting after the newspaper’s comment on Pelosi’s letter.