Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, and Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader - Wagner, Stevens, Cisneros Call for Direct Fiscal Relief to Small an Mid-sized Localities

Letter

Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Majority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Schumer,

Thank you for your ongoing work to support the wellbeing of all Americans and our economy in the face of this unprecedented crisis, the COVID-19 Pandemic. After spending time at home in our districts, seeing the heroic efforts to fight this novel coronavirus in our neighborhoods, we wish to call your attention to the need to support our local municipalities at this time.

As you know, the CARES Act created the Temporary Fiscal Relief for States and Cities (TFRSC) funding provision. While we agree that our states are in need of funding to stabilize their ongoing work, we were disappointed that the agreement only allowed localities with greater than 500,000 residents to apply for these financial resources. We therefore urge you to work with affected communities, including the United States Conference of Mayors, to ensure this much needed funding is reaching our nation's small and mid-sized cities and towns.

The current provision creates untenable scenarios for the long-term solvency for our small and mid-sized cities and towns with populations under 500,000, which comprise over 99 percent of all cities across our country. Our small and mid-sized cities and towns are on the front lines of saving lives and shoring up our local economies during this crisis. Without strong and immediate support, they will suffer significant revenue loss at a time when their output is increasing in response to the crisis.

We must preserve the survival of our cities and towns, the foundation and backbone of our great nation, and prepare them for the long road ahead for recovery.

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent matter.