Counties to House and Senate Leadership: We Need COVID Relief Now to Protect Lives and Restore Livelihoods

WASHINGTON – With COVID-19 cases and economic uncertainty increasing, and the end of the congressional session rapidly approaching, America’s counties are calling on our federal partners to pass bipartisan relief now.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging bipartisan solutions, including direct and flexible federal funding for counties of all sizes and extending the Coronavirus Relief Fund deadline.

“In every way, counties are on the front lines of the nation’s pandemic response. We provide many essential services, especially for our most vulnerable residents, and support small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities and our economy,” wrote NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase.

In NACo’s letter to House and Senate leadership, Chase highlighted innovative and fiscally responsible ways counties are fighting the pandemic, serving residents and investing current CRF dollars, but he noted that counties need more.

NACo found that counties continue to face massive budgetary effects – as much as $202 billion through FY2021. These impacts are resulting in job losses, service reductions, and cuts and delays in job-creating capital investment projects.

Read the full letter here.

America’s 3,069 county governments support over 1,900 local public health departments, nearly 1,000 hospitals and critical access clinics, more than 800 long-term care facilities and 750 behavioral health centers. Additionally, county governments are responsible for emergency operations centers and 911 services, court and jail management, public safety and emergency response, protective services for children, seniors and veterans, and the “last of the first responders” with coroners and medical examiners, among many other essential public services.

NACo’s coronavirus online hub includes county level examples of response efforts, interactive maps and analyses of federal actions. View this resource-rich webpage at www.naco.org/coronavirus.