April 23, 2020 / By Ronn Blitzer | Fox News
State and local governments across the country are expecting to lay off workers in the near future, lamenting that a new stimulus bill is not providing them with additional funds.
Governors and Washington Democrats had called for federal aid to states in the bill currently being debated in the House, despite last month’s CARES Act providing $150 billion for state and local bodies dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Without this relief, states will be confronted with the prospect of cuts to essential services,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who lead the National Governors Association — said in a joint statement last week, in which they called for $500 billion in federal assistance to states. “This will make it that much harder to have a strong economic recovery, which is a top priority for the president and for all of the governors.”
Los Angeles already is forcing city workers to take 26 days of unpaid leave— the equivalent of a 10 percent pay cut — over the course of the next fiscal year. Detroit is also facing significant layoffs and furloughs.
