Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo today issued a letter to President Trump urging him to use his influence and force Congress to ensure that the next COVID-19 stimulus package includes real financial aid for American families, states and localities. The governor also called on the president to compromise on corporate liability limitations. If the president does not step in and act now to help the nation resist and begin the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, its lasting legacy will be that a president has allowed the national economy to collapse, while impeding states’ ability to distribute. COVID-19 vaccine is fast and effective.
The full text of the letter is below:
December 19, 2020
Dear Mr. President,
Time is short. Congress must act on the COVID-19 bill within the next 48 hours. Let’s “talk about New York.” New Yorkers can speak frankly from below. Although some may call it “blunt,” it is effective and, frankly, a welcome relief for an audience confused and frustrated by Washington’s circular hyperbole and rhetoric. Also, let’s put aside the concerns of principle and politics and consider our own reputation and heritage.
This is your last act. You will sign this COVID legislation and you will be responsible for its results. The first act of President-elect Joe Biden will be to repair the damage done in your last act.
Senator McConnell is irrelevant. You control the Republican Party, as just demonstrated by the Texas lawsuit against democracy. You will decide and be held accountable for the consequences of this much-needed COVID legislation.
There are only three real problems between the parties at the end of the day: and we are at the end of the day. The American people need financial assistance to get to the end of the year. Republican families need these help controls as much as Democratic families. American families fighting during the holidays go beyond even deeply drawn party lines.
Republicans want to limit corporate liability to protect companies from COVID risk. As usual, Republicans go too far and essentially demand general protection for corporate responsibility. A reasonable compromise must be reached and you can negotiate it in two phone calls.
The third issue is funding for state and local governments. Republicans do not want to help local and state governments, because the states that need help now are largely democratic states. This is just stupid – with the explosion of COVID numbers, the Republican states will also need help. COVID rates will continue to rise for weeks, and Republican states are already suffering. Senator McConnell says the “bankruptcy of states” would lead to the “bankruptcy of the nation.” If New York, California, Michigan, Illinois and other democratic states get financially hindered, it will affect the national economy and you will be to blame.
In addition, without state and local funding, the vaccine distribution process will be delayed. You will be responsible for this delay, which will lead to more deaths and make the federal immunization program a disaster. Remember, the federal immunization program now amounts to the delivery of a FedEx box to the front door of the state. The state must then distribute the vaccine. If states are forced to lay off key workers, who will provide vaccination? Santa is busy at this time of year.
More Americans will die from COVID than they did during World War II. And a failed vaccination program will be the culmination of 10 months of federal failure to manage the COVID crisis. We know what will happen and we can see the historical analysis: Pfizer developed the vaccine, the federal government did not buy enough and then you financed the states so that the vaccine could not be administered. This will be the result.
And make no mistake, this will be the damage you have done and will be indisputable and obvious. President-elect Biden will clean up the mess you created in the first year of his term and possibly more. Your “friends” in the Republican Party will return you even after you step down. Political loyalty dissipates faster than the ice in Florida. American families who do not receive checks will be personal tragedies that people will understand. The national economic turmoil caused by failed state economies, an incompetent federal immunization program, and several American deaths are the realities you face. Indeed, if you’re right, and politics is similar to the show, remember that Scrooge was never loved, watching Americans die didn’t earn anyone high ratings, and national recessions aren’t produced by business people. successful television or The Apprentice hosts. You’re about to leave the stage, and the audience always remembers the closing.
Up to you.
Sincerely,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo