NY Gov. Cuomo blasts the coronavirus stimulus package as 'terrible' for Empire State

insider@insider.com (Jake Lahut)
·2 min read
FILE PHOTO: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks in Central Park in New York City, New York, U.S., September 29, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is fuming over the relatively small sum his state is getting from the coronavirus stimulus package.

Reuters

  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo dedicated a portion of his daily press briefing to lambasting the US Senate's $2 trillion stimulus plan for inadequately covering his state's needs, which he estimates could run a budget deficit of over $10 billion because of the coronavirus.

  • In a follow-up statement, his communications director outlined how New York's $3.1 billion allocation is just 1.9% of the state's budget, the second-lowest in the country under the bill.

  • "That is a drop in the bucket, as to need," Cuomo said of the bill.

  • "This is despite the fact that New York State is incurring the greatest costs as we have the highest number of cases in the country," Dani Lever, Cuomo's communications director, said in a statement. " ... It is just another case of politics over sound policy."

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had no qualms making his displeasure about the US Senate's $2 trillion stimulus package known on Wednesday, pointing to his state being shortchanged amid a surge in coronavirus cases taxing the medical system.

"It would really be terrible for the State of New York," Cuomo said at his daily press briefing from the capitol in Albany, noting that only $3.8 billion would be going to the Empire State, whose budget is usually well over $100 billion.

"$3.8 billion sounds like a lot of money ... but we're looking at a revenue shortfall of 9, 10, $15 billion," Cuomo continued.

In a follow-up statement, Dani Lever, Cuomo's communications director, pointed out that the bill allocates to New York the second smallest amount of funding relative to its budget of any state — just 1.9%.

"This is despite the fact that New York State is incurring the greatest costs as we have the highest number of cases in the country," Lever said in a statement. " ... It is just another case of politics over sound policy."

Cuomo, who has earned plaudits nationwide for his steady hand managing the crisis and for his thorough daily briefings, grew visibly frustrated when describing the stimulus package.

"That is a drop in the bucket, as to need," he said.

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