The Role of Federal Dollars to Address Unprecedented State and Local Needs

Wednesday, July 29, 2020
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EDT

The Volcker Alliance and Penn IUR hosted a webinar on the federal role in helping US states and municipalities cope with the massive economic and societal disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Congress has already agreed to provide $2 trillion to help states, cities, and counties battle unemployment and the direct public health costs of COVID-19, the amount is likely to prove insufficient. Over the next two years, state and municipal budgets may be burdened with as much as $1 trillion in revenue shortfalls. With states and municipalities employing 22 million Americans and accounting for almost a fifth of the nation’s GDP, these budgetary shortfalls pose a dire threat to the entire economy.

Moderated by Susan Wachter, Penn IUR Co-Director, and William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Senior Vice President and Director of State and Local Initiatives at the Volcker Alliance, the discussion featureed presentations by: Thomas DiNapoli, Comptroller, New York State; Michael Nutter, former Mayor, City of Philadelphia; Fitzroy Lee, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Economist, Washington, D.C.; Nicholas Johnson, Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities; Steven Kreisberg, Special Assistant to the President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Donald Boyd, Co-Director, Project on State and Local Government Finance, SUNY Albany; Marcia Howard, Executive Director, Federal Funds Information for States; and Marcia Van Wagner, Vice President—Senior Credit Officer, State Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service.