New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Threaten a lawsuit if Congress doesn’t cough up $15 billion in unrestricted emergency COVID-19 aid.
Cuomo is facing massive problems as his actions has curtailed revenue in not allowing businesses to operate as well as a massive number of for tax payers moving from the State to other places.
Combined New York State is facing a dramatic loss in sales and income tax revenue for which he is blaming President Donald Trump’s administration for allowing COVID-19 to hit New York and the rest of the nation by failing to ban travel from Europe until mid-March. New York has now recorded nearly 42,000 deaths of people with COVID-19, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.
“What happened to New York was no fault of New Yorkers. It was because the federal government lost track of coronavirus, literally,” he stated.
He said Washington is “legally, ethically and politically responsible” for providing New York with the aid he’s demanding President-elect Joe Biden the Democratic Senate either bend to his wishes or face legal action.
Cuomo said New York would need to borrow, raise taxes and slash state spending for local governments and social services if it receives a lesser amount from federal aid. He said New York would spend $600 million less on Medicaid and continue $900 million in 5% across-the-board spending reductions.
“And you would have to do all of this in a COVID pandemic,” said Cuomo, who warned that could slow the state’s economic recovery.
He estimates the legislature’s proposal to raise taxes on high earners would bring in $1.5 billion and give New York the highest income tax rate on top earners in the nation.
Cuomo estimates his proposal to allow mobile sports betting could bring in $500 million a year, while legalized adult-use marijuana sales could eventually bring in roughly $300 million.
But Cuomo said $15 billion in federal aid would allow New York to boost school aid, fund a low-cost broadband plan for low-income families, provide $1.3 billion in rental assistance, fund $1 billion in student financial aid, eliminate Medicaid co-pays and launch $130 million in tax credits for small business recovery.
Also during this latest speech the Governor indicated that until the State received more federal aid he would not release release the $2.4 billion in state aid that his administration has been withholding from local governments since last summer.