top of page
Writer's pictureTom Cochran

OK, Congress - Now's the Time to Help the States & Localities With More Than Grant In-(Band)-Aids.

I find it tragically ironic that Congress was only able to retake control of the Capitol from a seditious armed mob with the help of revenue-starved states and localities in the DC area which had to overcome what in retrospect looks to be suspicious foot-dragging somewhere in the national government's National Guard command and control system. Luckily for the continued life of our beleaguered democracy, neither the state police forces of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, etc. nor the local police forces of Montgomery County, MD, Arlington and Fairfax Counties (VA), etc. were delayed in their response by the same problems, being under firm control by their stat's Governors and country executives.


It's now more clear than ever that the recently-passed $900 Covid relief bill's provisions to provide fiscal assistance to the state and local sector through various grant-in-aid systems like ESEA Title I are providing only an inadequate patchwork of little fiscal Band-Aids. The Pew Charitable Trusts data of 10/10/2020 showed a YOY reduction in local public k-12 and higher education employment of 6.9% and those reduction in education force are continuing even as the implementation of the $82 billion funding provisions of the $900 Billion Covid relief omnibus appropriation bill ( $22.7 billion for colleges and universities, and $54 billion for k-12 schools).




Why are the state and localities continuing to lay off teachers, aides, maintenance people etc., et al? Because school district revenue from all local, state and federal sources has dropped due to the impact of pandemic mitigation measures taken by state and local leaders per guidance from the Federal government, of course and state and local governments are not constitutionally permitted to run operating deficits, unlike the Feds.


So Congress, isn't time to face up to what the federal government actually owes the states and localities which I submit is at least 100% compensation for every penny of revenue they lost trying to carry out their public health partner role within the federal system? I look forward to seeing bi-partisan introduction of the 2021 versions SMART Act in the Senate and House at any moment. Then I'll know that Congress may actually stop starving the hand that elects it in free and fair elections and even now continues to protect it from insurrection.




8 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page