Mnuchin Suggests Coronavirus Relief Package Will Not Be Bail Out for ‘Mismanaged’ States

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is suggesting the next coronavirus relief package will not act as a bailout for states, as he says, that were poorly managed prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday morning, Mnuchin told co-host of the program, Joe Kernen, any government assistance to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus on the economy will not be used as a bailout for states.

“On the state issue, the president is not going to bail out Chicago and New York and other states that prior to the coronavirus were mismanaged,” Mnuchin said.

He added, “We’re going to have the Kennedy bill which basically says the states that have the money can use the money for lost revenues. That’s going to take care of virtually every single state. I think that’s a very fair compromise.”

Check out his comments below:

The Coronavirus Relief Fund Flexibility for State and Local Government Act, sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), allows state and local governments more flexibility with how they use funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Mnuchin said it is not fair for states to be bailing out other states and the bill sponsored by Kennedy will serve as a compromise.

“There’s a lot of Republicans who feel like, and I agree with this, that states have their own ability to tax, that it’s unfair for states like Florida to be bailing out states like New York. But having said that, we’re going to go with a compromise solution which is the Kennedy bill,” Mnuchin said.

Mnuchin also commented on President Donald Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut, as IJR previously reported.

He claimed “it won’t be” in the base coronavirus relief bill.

Senate Republicans are likely to introduce their full proposal for the relief package on Thursday.