Next big funding fight in Washington likely to be over state aid

WASHINGTON (SBG) – The week ahead, in some regions, will be navigated in uncharted waters.

In Alaska, for example, some restaurants and retail stores are now back open for the first time. In Kentucky, the opening will be more gradual, beginning with the health care sector -- including dentists, physical therapy and lab services.

"If we don't do this right, and we have a second spike, we end up with more economic damage," saidGov. Andy Beshear (D-Kentucky).

That economic damage would be a central theme in the upcoming fight expected in Washington, after funding for state and local governments was left out of the $484 billion coronavirus relief package just passed and signed into law.

During a press conference Thursday, Gov Andrew Cuomo, D, New York, said this:

"I said to my colleges in Washington, 'I would have insisted that funding for state and local governments was in this current bill because I don’t believe that they want to fund state and local governments.'"

On CNN's State of the Union, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised the money willcome.

“The state and local have done their jobs magnificently," Pelosi told Jake Tapper. "They should be impatient. Their impatience will help us get an even bigger number."

The question on Capitol Hill is not if, but when, the next round of funding will come through and what it may include. However, some concerns are now being raised about the amount of money already doled out by Congress could put the financial future of this country in danger.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems to want to take a pause before any new funding packages and this week told Hugh Hewitt on his radio show, "I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route. It saves some cities, and there’s no good reason for it not to be available."

Sunday Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday there will likely be more money, but it will have to come from both sides.

“If we need more money, as I've said, this is a war," said Mnuchin. "We'll win this war. If we need to spend more money, we will. And we'll only do it with bipartisan support."