Senators Respond to National Urban League Plea For Urban Coronavirus Funding

NEW YORK (April 18, 2020) -- National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today thanked a group of 33 Senators for responding to the League’s plea for dedicated, flexible funding for state and local governments in the next COVID-19 emergency funding package.

“Earlier this week we pointed out that cities with significant African-American and minority populations were excluded from direct grants or not fully funded under the CARES Act,” Morial said. “We’re pleased to see that a group of concerned Senators have responded by calling for the next interim emergency coronavirus package to include dedicated funding for cities, counties, tribes, and other local governments.”

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the Senators wrote, “ … it is essential that you include robust, dedicated, and flexible funding to all units of state and local government in the next interim emergency coronavirus package …  to support their ongoing efforts in the fight against this pandemic. Not only are these public servants on the front line of the immediate response effort, they are also major employers navigating unprecedented declines in revenue just as the need for their services hits an all-time high. We can and we must work together to get this essential funding to our local partners as quickly as possible.

The Senators’ letter echoes a letter Morial sent to Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell on Monday, urging that federal aid be made available to a broader range of cities.

“These smaller cities typically have a more narrow economic base than larger areas, have weaker infrastructure, and grossly inadequate health care facilities,” Morial wrote. “Also, such communities lagged in recovering from the impact of the Great Recession. They are desperately in need of liquidity to help cope with the broad economic disruption imposed by COVID-19.”