Gov. Cuomo Meets With President Biden, VP Harris At White House To Discuss COVID Relief
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo was in Washington, D.C. on Friday for his first meeting with President Joe Biden about COVID relief.
The president's proposed aid package includes about $70 billion for New York, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
For a governor under fire for the treatment of nursing home patients with COVID, it must've been a welcome relief to be away from New York - sitting in the Oval Office to discuss bringing home the bacon for his hard hit state.
"I think the federal government has a major role to play here," Pres. Biden said. "But these are the folks that are on the ground dealing with it every single solitary day. And they see the pain and they see the successes when they occur."
The nursing home mess may be one reason Cuomo didn't join other elected officials in talking about the meeting as they left the White House.
Although there has been a lot of angst about just what New York will get from the aid package, CBS2 obtained a copy of a letter House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent to the New York congressional delegation laying out the proposed deal she and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer worked out - giving New York $70 billion: $50 billion in state and local funding and $20 billion to support families.
The local aid pot includes:
- $12.8 billion for New York State,
- $10.6 billion for New York City and other localities,
- $12.3 billion in education funding, and
- $8.9 billion for the MTA.
The pot to help families includes:
- $12 billion in direct aid payments to families,
- $1.9 billion for rental and homeowners assistance, and
- nearly $1.1 billion for nutritional assistance.
One thing not in the aid package is a bill to repeal SALT, so New Yorkers and others in the Tri-State Area can deduct state and local taxes from their federal returns.