Gov. Laura Kelly said Monday she expects the state’s congressional delegation will warm to the idea of using federal dollars to help offset the state’s budget deficit resulting from efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Right now, there’s a whole lot of politicking going on in D.C.,” Kelly said at her daily briefing Monday. “There’s a lot of posturing and what not.
“I think in the end, the Kansas congressional delegation will be there for us,” she said. “I don’t think the timing is right…to ask them to come out and express their support for that. We just need to let some things play out in D.C.”
Last week, Kelly sent a letter to the Kansas congressional delegation, saying she was “gravely concerned” that states are prohibited from using COVID-19 relief funds to replace lost revenue.
However, Republican U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran sounded a reluctant tone about providing federal aid that would help states dig out of a shortfall.
“I don’t think it’s the responsibility of Kansas taxpayers to help states and localities to recover from their ill-advised poor judgment of spending more money than they are capable of affording,” Moran said last week.
Republican Congressman Ron Estes echoed a similar view.
“Congress doesn’t need to bail out state and local governments any more than we already have,” Estes said.
Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids has supported giving states more flexibility to use federal aid to help them with their budget difficulties.
“Congress must ensure that our state and local governments can receive direct, flexible aid in the next COVID-19 response package so they can continue to provide the strong public education, health care, infrastructure, and more that Kansas families depend on,” she said.
Comments from Congressman Roger Marshall and Steve Watkins were not available.
The state is expected to receive $1.25 billion in coronavirus relief, but the money can only go toward the direct cost of battling the infection.
Kansas is facing a $1.27 billion shortfall for this year and next after imposing restrictions on movement and mass gatherings that closed businesses and put thousands out of work as officials sought to deal with the public health crisis.
The state’s now expected to run a deficit of $653 million in 2021, having enough money in reserve to get through the end of the current year ending June 30.
Nationally, states are expected to cumulatively run deficits between $150 billion and $500 billion for a single year.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s not interested in bailing out bad fiscal decisions at the state level, an argument that Kelly rebuts in her letter.
McConnell has said he wants to wait until the chamber returns May 4 to weigh the impact of what Congress has already spent before making decisions on a new stimulus package.
