Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo shows his masks during a press conference at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 26, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City.
Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Republican lawmakers on Wednesday to “stop abusing” states that have born the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak and are in need of federal aid.
New York is facing a $13.3 billion revenue shortfall from the state’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak that has left a record number of people unemployed and businesses shuttered for almost two months. Cuomo has criticized Republican lawmakers, such as Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who have supported the idea of letting states declare bankruptcy.
“My point to our friends in the Congress: stop abusing New York. Stop abusing Massachusetts and Illinois and Michigan and Pennsylvania. Stop abusing the states that bore the brunt of the Covid virus through no fault of their own,” Cuomo said during his daily press briefing in Washington D.C.
He said New York, which has repeatedly called for greater federal assistance, has put more money into the “federal pot” for years while many Republican-led states, such as Kentucky and Florida, have taken more in federal dollars than they’ve contributed to the U.S. Treasury. He listed states like New York and New Jersey as being among the top donor states to the federal government.
“This hyper-partisan Washington environment is toxic for this country,” he said.
Cuomo met with President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday to discuss the state’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
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