The Trump Administration and some news outlets are citing Treasury Department...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Senate Republican Relief Plan Ignores Needs of States, Schools
July 28, 2020
The Senate Republicans’ new economic relief plan contains no new fiscal aid for states and localities, whose revenues have collapsed due to COVID-19 and the resulting recession. Without that aid, they will continue laying off teachers and other workers and cutting services, which will hurt struggling families,...
Senate Republicans Only Offer States Nearly Meaningless “Flexibility”
July 22, 2020
The Senate Republicans’ reported economic relief plan contains no new fiscal aid for states and localities, whose revenues have collapsed due to COVID-19 and the resulting recession. While the plan reportedly trumpets the added “flexibility” that it provides for states and the most...
Senate Republicans’ Out-of-Touch Plan Would Pressure Schools to Reopen
July 21, 2020
Amidst an unprecedented state and local fiscal crisis, Senate Republicans reportedly may offer only one form of new federal fiscal aid to states and localities in the next...
Federal Aid for States, Localities Protects the Economy
July 2, 2020
As federal policymakers consider another package to address the deep economic downturn, one of the most effective steps would be to provide substantial federal grants to help states address their huge revenue shortfalls, as the House-passed Heroes Act would do. That would help states and localities avoid cuts in services and investments that would worsen racial inequities — as my colleague...
Good Reasons Why States Haven’t Yet Spent All Coronavirus Relief Funds
June 25, 2020
Some wrongly argue that federal policymakers should “wait and see” before giving states more fiscal aid to help address their huge, recession-driven revenue shortfalls, in part because they haven’t spent all the aid they’ve received so far. States, however, have good reasons not to spend all of that aid just yet. And, in any case, they’ll need far more to address their extraordinary shortfalls...
How Should States, Localities Spend CARES Act’s Coronavirus Relief Fund?
May 28, 2020
The CARES Act includes a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to help states, populous cities and counties, tribal governments, and U.S. territories cover unanticipated costs from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects. Working from Treasury Department...
Projected State Shortfalls Grow as Economic Forecasts Worsen
May 20, 2020
June 15, 2020: We have updated our estimate of projected state shortfalls. Please see this paper for our new estimate.
As economic projections worsen, so do the likely state budget shortfalls from COVID-19’s economic...
Fiscal Relief Needed Now to Stop Massive State Job Loss From Becoming Permanent
May 15, 2020
The “wait and see” approach that Senator John Thune and some other Republicans recommend for providing more state and local fiscal relief is highly unwise. States and localities furloughed or laid off nearly a million workers last month, new...
Contrary to Arguments, States Need More Federal Relief
May 6, 2020
South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem says her state doesn’t need more federal fiscal relief; it just needs the Treasury Department to let it use previously provided relief funds to cover revenue shortfalls. The argument apparently has gained traction among some...