WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) ─ The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package late Wednesday night, steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Included in the relief package is $5 billion in funding for New York, which has already seen nearly 30,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
But that funding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, is nowhere near enough for the Empire State.
“It’s a drop in the bucket,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo expressed disappointment over the funding Thursday, adding that the virus has already cost New York between $10-15 billion in lost tax revenue.
“I find it irresponsible, I find it reckless,” he said of the funding. “This is the time for governmental leaders to stop making excuses and just do your job.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said he understands Cuomo’s concerns at the state level regarding the funding, but that isn’t the only federal assistance on its way.
“New York will get over $100 billion in this bill,” Schumer said. “It will be money for the hospitals, money for the small businesses, money for the government.”
Despite Cuomo’s concerns over the lack of aid to state governments, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said Congress is already working on another bill addressing those concerns.
“We’re still going to need to have more money for state and local government and municipalities and the rest,” Pelosi said.
“There’s already talk about a fourth stimulus package looking at how we can help local governments and states across the country,” Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-New York, added. “I think that if New York continues to be the epicenter they’re going to see more funding through that as well.”