As New York stands poised to take in more than $23.5B from federal relief bill, some question scope of need
(The Center Square) – New York leaders from across the state hailed Wednesday’s passage of the American Rescue Plan in Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives voted on a near party-line vote to accept changes made by the Senate and send the $1.9 trillion spending package to President Joe Biden, who plans to sign it into law on Friday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the bill a historic measure that provides much-needed relief to “working class New Yorkers” and will help the nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This legislation confronts the dual health and economic crises created by the war on COVID by providing much needed relief to lift New York families out of dire economic straits, critical funds to expand and accelerate New York’s growing vaccination efforts, and targeted relief for state and local governments,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The bill provides $23.5 billion in direct aid to state and local governments in New York. That includes roughly $12.5 billion to the state itself.
Cuomo had been calling on the federal government to give the state $15 billion. While he said Tuesday that tax increases are still on table because of the shortfall, his statement Wednesday didn’t mention that.
However, some analysts have questioned the legitimacy of Cuomo’s $15 billion budget filling request. Last week, the Empire Center noted that state budget officials have amended the outlook to forecast an additional $5 billion in revenue through fiscal year 2022.
Empire Center Founder and Senior Fellow E.J. McMahon added though that the state and local governments will have only a short-term bright outlook as spending remains ahead of what’s projected to come in from property taxes, especially since some residential and commercial landlords have not received rental payments for months due to government freezes.
“Beyond the economic rebound widely expected once pandemic restrictions are lifted later this year, governments at every level have a lot of downsizing to do,” McMahon wrote. “As of December, New York’s jobs recovery still trailed far behind other states. And the next big injection of federal aid from Washington will only provide a temporary relief.”
New York state isn’t the only beneficiary, as local and county governments will also receive funding. New York City is projected to receive $4.3 billion and each borough will receive its own allotment, with that amount totaling $1.6 billion.
In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the spending plan is what the city needs to hasten its recovery. He called it the most progressive legislation since the New Deal.
“New York City, and cities across the nation, will benefit immensely from direct local aid to boost our vaccination program, keep our schools open and drive economic growth,” de Blasio said.
Other communities stand to receive millions in direct aid. Erie County in western New York is expected to get $178 million.
Like de Blasio and Cuomo, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz thanked the New York Democrats in Congress for passing the bill.
“Government has a responsibility to help its constituents during their time of need and that is exactly what the COVID-19 #AmericanRescuePlan does,” Poloncarz tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
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