GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING/Wednesday, May 27

In D.C., Cuomo Asks

For Legislation That

Will Help The States

From the Governor’s Press Office

WASHINGTON – Governor Cuomo earlier today called on the U.S. Senate to pass a coronavirus relief bill that helps all Americans and provides unrestricted fiscal support for states.

The next bill should focus on funding state and local governments, working families, state testing and tracing efforts and a real economic stimulus, with no handouts to corporations that do not protect their workers and only enrich executives or shareholders.

The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that includes $500 billion for states and $375 billion for locals; Medicaid funding for the most vulnerable; increased SNAP food assistance; 100 percent FEMA federal assistance; funding for testing; and repeals SALT cap to help states most affected by COVID-19.

Governor Cuomo also reiterated his call for the U.S. Senate to repeal the SALT limitations, which limits mortgage deductions on expensive homes.

The states most impacted by COVID-19 represent more than one-third of the national GDP, Cuomo said. They also send tens of billions of tax dollars more to the federal government than they get back, and the dollars they send are then redistributed to other states and big corporations. These very same states that have been most impacted by COVID-19, are also the states that were hit hardest by the cap on state and local taxes, the politically motivated first double tax in U.S. history that was implemented by the federal tax law in 2017.

The Governor also renewed his call for Congress to pass the ‘Americans First Law’ to help prevent corporate bailouts following the COVID-19 pandemic. First proposed by the Governor on May 10th, the legislation states that a corporation cannot be eligible to receive government funding if it doesn’t maintain the same number of employees that the corporation had before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Governor also urged President Trump to support a real public infrastructure program and to advance infrastructure projects in New York — including the LaGuardia AirTrain, the Cross-Hudson Tunnels, and the Second Avenue Subway expansion — to help supercharge the economy.

The Governor also announced that Long Island has met all seven metrics to begin phase one of reopening today, joining the Mid-Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions.