ICYMI: Daily Beast: Tillis Backs McConnell to Halt Funds to States, Even as NC Struggles

ICYMI: Daily Beast: Tillis Backs McConnell to Halt Funds to States, Even as NC Struggles

With businesses stressed, unemployment rates skyrocketing, and state income tax revenues at risk, the latest federal aid package falls short.

Raleigh, N.C. -- According to the Daily Beast, last week, Sen. Thom Tillis was asked where he stood on Mitch McConnell’s proposal to halt coronavirus aid to state and local governments. Tillis said he’s “more or less aligned with Leader McConnell on the issue.”

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“In a tele-town hall with constituents Friday morning, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) was asked by a constituent if the Senate would be voting to “bail out poorly-run states that were near-bankrupt” before COVID-19 hit.”

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“Personally, I don’t think we should, and I don’t think that we can,” responded Tillis. “I’m not so sure taxpayer dollars from North Carolina should go to a state, a county, or a city that, like you said, was in poor economic shape before we even had the virus.”

Though he cautioned he was open to looking at things on a “case-by-case” basis with an eye toward helping law enforcement and first responders, Tillis declared, “I don’t believe that I can support any measure that’s effectively a bailout for poorly-run state and local governments.”

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Though McConnell, Tillis, and other Republicans say they don’t want to reward poorly-managed jurisdictions with federal aid, nearly all governments in the country are facing some level of fiscal hardship because of the COVID-19 outbreak—including those in Tillis’ home state.

Tillis said during the Friday town hall that North Carolina “is among one of the best prepared states for what we’re going through right now,” as the state government, local governments, and public institutions there are scrambling to respond to a fiscal disaster.

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But Phil Berger, the Republican majority leader of the North Carolina state senate, told local news outlets on Friday that the state government is “staring down a multi-billion dollar revenue shortfall.”

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Fifteen minutes before his town hall began this morning, Tillis retweeted a message from Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, that his department will be sending $78 million to North Carolina local governments for various programs.

“I will continue to work to ensure our state has the resources it needs to get through this pandemic,” said Tillis.

Read the full story HERE.

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Piedmont Rising is a 501 (c)4 issue advocacy organization built by and for North Carolinians to advocate for lower insurance premiums and prescription drug costs and to ensure that more people have access to safe and affordable health care. Through grassroots organizing, education, and engagement, we are amplifying our health care stories and holding our elected officials accountable to the people, and issues they were elected to represent. www.piedmontrising.org