Nevada senators argue for federal coronavirus aid

WASHINGTON — Nevada’s Democratic senators argued Wednesday for federal funds to help states and cities grappling with the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus as Senate Republican leaders and the White House have ignored requests for aid.

The issue has divided the Senate GOP caucus as Republican governors, mayors and officeholders are clamoring for assistance as tax revenues plummet because of shuttered businesses.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said Republican leaders who claim there is no urgency to pass another coronavirus relief bill are “not listening to the governors or the mayors or the local governments.”

Cortez Masto said she and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., have talked with mayors of both political parties throughout the state who say relief is needed quickly to provide help for police, sanitation, teachers, package deliveries, health care and other needed services.

Rosen said another component of reopening the economy and trying to bring back businesses and jobs will require money for testing and contact tracing for health care and front-line workers in local communities.

The comments were made during a teleconference arranged by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041.

Harry Schiffman, an electrician at UNLV and president of AFSCME Local 4041, said public service workers were key to reopening the economy and helping the state get back to normal.

“We can do neither if we lay them off,” Schiffman said.

House bill dead on arrival

The House has passed a nearly $3 trillion bill that would dole out $750 billion to states and cities facing revenue losses and budget shortfalls that could force layoffs or furloughs of police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

But that bill has been called dead on arrival in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who suggested to a conservative radio host that states with mismanaged public pension plans should not receive a taxpayer bailout and instead could declare bankruptcy.

That comment prompted a backlash from lawmakers and public workers, including Harold Schaitberger, general president for International Association for Firefighters who told reporters McConnell’s remark was “short-sighted and unfortunate.”

Schaitberger was a participant in a Wednesday teleconference organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is calling on Congress and the Trump administration to set aside politics and provide fiscal help for cities, large and small, to stave off layoffs and furloughs of essential personnel.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said COVID-19 has had a “seismic impact” on cities and services that residents rely on during a crisis.

Lightfoot called on the Senate to “get to work.” And she noted that the partisan bickering has made Washington “part of the problem and not part of the solution.”

Nevada cities back aid

Three Nevada municipalities — Las Vegas, Reno and Henderson — have backed efforts by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to get funding for cities included in relief legislation.

Reno has estimated that it could see a $6.5 million shortfall in 2020, and $20 million in 2021.

Henderson has struggled with obtaining supplies to address COVID-19 infections, while Nevada has seen unemployment of more than 28 percent.

Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, has estimated budget shortfalls of up to $900 million in this fiscal year, and up to $2 billion in the next fiscal year.

“That is something that we have to focus on and ensure at the federal level that we are providing much-needed relief to our state and local governments,” Cortez Masto said.

The entire Nevada congressional delegation has backed federal relief for states and cities in the $2 trillion CARES Act passed in March.

Nevada’s lawmakers voted along party lines in the House on the most recent $3 trillion bill on May 15.

Bipartisan push for help

While McConnell and Republican leaders have argued against bailouts for states facing fiscal difficulties before the pandemic hit, a number of GOP lawmakers from “red” states have joined in the push for federal help.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican and chairman of the National Governors Association, is urging Congress to pass legislation to provide $500 billion to states.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., have included $500 billion for states, with flexible guidelines on spending, in their bipartisan bill introduced this month in the Senate.

The bill also has support from Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Collins faces a competitive race for re-election in Maine.

Companion bipartisan legislation has been filed in the House.

Cortez Masto and Rosen both support the bipartisan bill, in addition to another measure adopted in the House that would allocate funds for cities of fewer than 500,000 people.

Only 34 cities, with populations of more than 500,000, received aid in the CARES Act.

“Ninety percent of the cities have not received anything yet,” said Bryan Barnett, mayor of Rochester Hills, Michigan, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“Zero,” said Barnett, a Republican.