Congress must include state and local governments in the next coronavirus aid package, write Mike Coffman, the mayor of Aurora, Colorado and Jason Crow, one of the state’s Congressmen in an op-ed in The Denver Post.
The state of Colorado is currently facing a $3 billion shortfall and the city of Aurora is facing $25 million in budget cuts, according to the authors, and funding from congress “is necessary to rebuild our roads and maintain our parks, pay the salaries of our teachers and first responders, and provide critical resources for our students and health departments.”
Aurora has furloughed 576 employees to date, with more layoffs on the horizon, a situation that is echoed all across the country.
“Withholding funds from America’s cities and states,” write Coffman and Crow “won’t open our economy faster, nor will it help us beat the virus…Our cities can’t wait any longer.”
Read more about how congressional funding will save hundreds of jobs in Colorado and across the country here.