By Alison Steinbach | The Republic
Nine Arizona mayors have signed onto a letter requesting Congress channel $250 billion in direct emergency aid to cities nationwide to combat coronavirus, arguing cities will experience significant declines in revenue and have to cut services and employees if they don’t get federal help.
The March 20 letter, organized through the U.S. Conference of Mayors, was signed by 303 mayors from 48 states and Washington, D.C. It was addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Charles Schumer and House leader Kevin McCarthy.
“Cities are the front lines, immediately addressing this crisis and taking actions to protect public health and ensure public safety while continuing to provide core services to our citizens,” the letter says. “But as you know, we are at the beginning of this pandemic, and further action must be taken to address the public health and economic impacts of this disaster.”
