By
The governors of Maryland and New York on Saturday made a bipartisan request for $500 billion from the federal government to meet budgetary shortfalls resulting from the pandemic and financial crisis. Some of those shortfalls are certain to be passed on to public colleges and universities in most states, under current financial projections.
Stay-at-home orders and other aggressive measures are helping to slow the spread of the virus, but those preventative moves are resulting in catastrophic damage to state revenue, wrote Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, and Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York. Hogan chairs the National Governors Association and Cuomo is the group's vice chair.
“Despite this grave challenge, the recently passed federal CARES Act contained zero funding to offset these drastic state revenue shortfalls. To stabilize state budgets and to make sure states have the resources to battle the virus and provide the services the American people rely on, Congress must provide immediate fiscal assistance directly to all states," they wrote. “We must be allowed to use any state stabilization funds for replacement of lost revenue, and these funds should not be tied to only COVID-19 related expenses. Congress must amend the CARES Act to allow this flexibility for existing federal funding."
The U.S. Congress must appropriate $500 billion for all U.S. states and territories to help cover budget holes, the two governors said. And those funds should be separate from much-needed federal money for local governments.
“In the absence of unrestricted fiscal support of at least $500 billion from the federal government, states will have to confront the prospect of significant reductions to critically important services all across this country, hampering public health, the economic recovery and -- in turn -- our collective effort to get people back to work," wrote Hogan and Cuomo.
Read more by
Colleges wield codes of conduct to enforce compliance with COVID policies - Feb 231 hour 28 min ago
Canisius professors fight to keep tenure - Feb 23February 24, 2021
U of Maryland Temporarily Goes Online - Feb 22February 22, 2021
Colleges promise return to in-person classes for fall - Feb 19February 19, 2021
- 1 of 179
- ›
Inside Higher Ed Careers
Hiring? Post A Job Today!
Browse Faculty Jobs
Browse Administrative Jobs
Browse Executive Administration Jobs
We have retired comments and introduced Letters to the Editor. Share your thoughts »
Today’s News from Inside Higher Ed
Popular Right Now
Higher Education Events Calendar & People
12 lessons learned about successfully running a virtual conference (opinion)
Debate about kneeling during anthem continues at Bluefield College
Auditors Suspended in College of New Rochelle Fallout
Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education
Willful Blindness | Higher Ed Gamma
Do college students feel heard by professors and administrators on their campuses?
Unions, policy groups push for more accountability from colleges and universities
Expand commentsHide comments