Tom Reed for Congress issued the following announcement on May 21
This week, Rep. Tom Reed led the introduction of the SMART Act, which will distribute $500 billion in protected aid to state and local governments. The legislation is the result of two months of hard work by lawmakers in both parties, and in both chambers of Congress, to deliver essential financial relief to the localities devastated by COVID-19. Over the course of the discussions, Tom directed the development and inclusion of “maintenance of effort” language in the bill to ensure localities continue to receive the full economic assistance they deserve.
“We are pleased leaders on both sides of the aisle were willing to step up and join us in our efforts to support local governments because we care about the essential services they provide to the community. With provisions in place to safeguard the aid and ensure it is utilized to address the crisis at hand, the SMART Act can directly assist localities in the reopening and recovery process,” said Congressman Reed.
A number of key voices have shared their thoughts on the bill and the critical steps the federal government must take to support localities in this time of crisis.
New York State Association of Counties President and Chairman of the Ontario County Board of Supervisors Jack Marren stated, “Congressman Tom Reed, as a former Mayor himself, understands the challenges of managing a local government. I have been a part of many bipartisan meetings that Congressman Reed has overseen as our Congressman. Therefore, I am not at all surprised that he is a part of the group advocating for the SMART Stabilization Fund. Congressman Reed has been a Champion for all Local and County governments throughout his career. Thank you Congressman Reed for your continued support!”
“NYCOM appreciates the leadership of Congressman Tom Reed as he works in a bipartisan fashion to secure federal funding for local and state governments, and we welcome the SMART Act proposal as further evidence of growing bipartisan support for such essential funding. Every local government in New York and throughout the nation is facing budget imbalances not of their own doing, as the economic shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is imposing damaging shortfalls in revenue in urban, suburban and rural municipalities. Only our federal government has the capacity to step in and provide the stimulus that will right the fiscal ships at the local level and, in turn, allow our local governments to support the full restoration of our economy," said New York State Conference of Mayors Executive Director Peter Baynes.
“The SMART Act provides essential federal aid for counties at a time when our revenues are plummeting, yet demands for our frontline public health and public safety services are skyrocketing. We are encouraged by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle working with us to address the urgent needs of county governments, including our economic response and recovery priorities,” said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. “We thank Representatives Tom Reed, Mikie Sherrill, Brian Fitzpatrick, Josh Gottheimer, Pete King, Tom O'Halleran, Fred Upton, Ted Lieu, Elise Stefanik, and Debbie Dingell for their bipartisan leadership to achieve our shared goal of saving lives and restoring our economy.”
“State and local governments big and small are struggling with budget holes and significant revenue losses due to the pandemic and the steps that had to be taken to protect the public,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director, National Association of Police Organizations. “As a result, police departments across the country have told their officers that hiring and wage freezes are going into effect, department civilian staff are being furloughed and laid off, and that they will be next for furlough and layoffs. Law enforcement and public safety will be negatively impacted if direct, flexible funding is not given to state and local governments to help them offset budget and revenue shortfalls created by the crisis. Further, the National Association of Police Organizations strongly believes that every state, city and department that receives this funding must maintain pre-COVID staffing levels in their departments. We must avoid creating a public safety crisis on top of the public health and economic crisis this country is experiencing.”
“The National League of Cities welcomes the introduction of the bipartisan SMART Act, a bill that would assist all local governments with maintaining their core responsibilities, including keeping emergency responders on the job intervening in localized outbreaks of COVID-19; and restoring the economic activity of their communities long term. Providing federal relief for municipalities across the nation is critical to advancing the reopening of America and our national economic recovery, on which thousands of jobs and the livelihoods of American families depend. The SMART Act is another positive sign that Members of Congress want to help the local leaders they represent; and that momentum is growing for the next emergency response package to include fair and appropriate levels of assistance to all cities, towns, and villages,” said National League of Cities CEO Clarence Anthony.
"We are pleased that a bipartisan group of senators, led by Senator Menendez and Senator Cassidy, have put forward a plan that recognizes the urgency of the fiscal crisis facing cities. These senators understand that this is not a partisan or geographic issue. COVID-19 has done fiscal harm in every state and every city. The next package that Congress passes must include strong and flexible fiscal assistance that provides direct emergency relief to all cities and can be used to help mitigate budget shortfalls resulting from the pandemic. Cities are on the frontlines of this crisis, and Washington’s response must rise to meet the tremendous challenge cities face in responding to both the public health crisis and its dire economic impacts,” said United States Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran.
Original source can be found here.
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