Coronavirus: New York schools and hospitals could see 20% cut in funding, governor warns

'You shouldn’t make us choose between small businesses, and big businesses, and people working on the frontlines,' Governor Andrew Cuomo says

New York schools and hospitals could see a 20 per cent decrease in funding without federal assistance, the governor warned.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has put pressure on President Donald Trump and the federal government in recent days because of the assistance his state desperately needed in order to properly fight the coronavirus.

“If they exclude state government again, our state forecast will project without any federal funds you can’t spend what you don’t have if you were to do allocate the shortfall relatively on a flat basis across need, you would be cutting schools 20 per cent, local governments 20 per cent and hospitals 20 percent and this is the worst time to do this,” Mr Cuomo said during his press briefing on Monday.

“You shouldn’t make us choose between small businesses, and big businesses, and people working on the frontlines,” he added.

Congress has battled in recent days in passing more money for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which would go towards small businesses. But this funding does not include more money for the state governments, and Mr Cuomo said that was a serious problem.

Democrats have reportedly been fighting for more funding for states, but Republicans, and the Trump administration, were not eager to give additional money at this time.

“We’ll be saving that for a later date,” Mr Trump said on Sunday.

If the deal with Congress was passed as is, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin said a majority of funding would go towards the PPP, but there would also be money for testing and hospitals.

Mr Cuomo said frontline workers should be prioritised in the stimulus package, which was why more money needed to go towards the states.

“Don’t forget teachers and police officers and healthcare workers and transit workers … that is who I fund,” he said. “Our frontline workers are our heroes. They are the ones carrying us through this crisis.”

Hazard pay was recommended by the governor to be included in the stimulus package for the workers on the frontlines who are consistently going out amid the pandemic while other people stay home.

"When you are home with your doors locked dealing with cabin fever, they were out there dealing with the coronavirus. That's why they are more infected. Pay them what they deserve. I would say hazard pay, give them a 50 per cent bonus," Mr Cuomo said.

He also mentioned that 41 per cent of frontline workers were people of colour, a demographic that has been hit harder by Covid-19 in areas across the US.

"Thanks is nice, but recognition of their efforts and their sacrifice is also appropriate," he said. "They're the ones that's carrying us through this crisis."

Not only was the governor pushing for more federal funding to give to the frontline workers, but he said it was essential in order for New York state to reopen its economy.

"If you want us to reopen, we need funding," Mr Cuomo said.

The state needed assistance to increase its testing capacity, but the president was unwilling to put testing on the federal government.

"States, not the Federal Government, should be doing the Testing - But we will work with the Governors and get it done," Mr Trump wrote in a tweet while accusing governors of playing a "political game".