Evers Calls For Federal Aid As Revenues Decline

Tony Evers.. Photo by Emily Hamer/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Gov. Tony Evers has joined Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in urging President Trump to expedite additional resources for all states and localities so that they can address economic shortfalls resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.

“Without this leadership, the damage to our state economies will be exacerbated by the cuts we know we will be forced to make,” the governors said in a letter to Trump Wednesday.

They noted that National Governors Association that Chair Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Vice Chair New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo support $500 billion in state stabilization funds “that will allow for the replacement of lost revenues and with the maximum flexibility possible so the funding can be used beyond those costs directly tied to COVID-19 related expenses.”

As of Friday afternoon, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reported 4,045  positive cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, with 205 deaths from the disease.

To slow the spread of COVID-19, DHS, at Evers’ direction, instituted a Safer at Home order March 25, temporarily closing non-essential businesses. On Thursday, April 16, the order was extended from its current April 24 expiration through Memorial Day weekend until May 26.

The governor’s office predicts Wisconsin would lose $2 billion in revenues, while unemployment has already spiked to 15%, due to measures taken to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Allison Donahue of Michigan Advance contributed to this report.

Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.