Cooper calls on Congress to provide more federal aid for North Carolina
Gov. Roy Cooper speaks during a briefing on North Carolina’s coronavirus pandemic response Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.
(The Center Square) – North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper sent a letter to the state’s Congressional leaders Friday asking for more federal coronavirus aid.
Cooper urged them to provide direct funding for the state and local governments, money to secure personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies for schools and to extend the federal contribution to the state’s medical assistance programs, among other things.
“We cannot beat this crisis if we do not ensure our economy can survive the duration of the virus, and we will not beat the virus if we do not follow best public health guidance and properly resource and implement robust testing, contact tracing and isolation capabilities required for an effective recovery strategy,” Cooper wrote.
North Carolina received more than $4 billion in direct aid in the stimulus relief package approved by Congress in March. The aid could be used only for expenses the state and local government accrued while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cooper, in his letter, asked federal lawmakers to give the state and municipalities the flexibility to use the aid to recoup economic losses.
Cooper also wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse 100 percent of any qualifying expenses.
In their latest economic forecast for the state, the Legislature’s Fiscal Research Division and the Office of State Budget estimated revenue collections over the biennium could drop by $4.9 billion – or 8.4 percent – as a result of the response to the pandemic.
Like other states, North Carolina’s economy plummeted as businesses were forced to shut down to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The unemployment rate went from 3.6 percent in January to 7.6 percent in June, which was 5.2 percentage points less than May’s rate, according to the Department of Commerce.
Cooper asked the Congressional leaders in his letter for more support with federal unemployment benefits, rent and utility assistance and for a small business credit initiative.
“The actions you take in the next few weeks are vital to our ability to emerge from this crisis and restore the economic prosperity we know we are capable of,” Cooper wrote.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, along with a coalition of 22 attorneys general, sent a letter Tuesday to the U.S. Senate, requesting at least $50 billion in the next stimulus package to bail out child care facilities.
“If [child care] providers don’t get the funding they need to stay open, we’ll lose critical small businesses and place even more financial burdens on families already struggling during this pandemic,” Stein said.
