The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious public health crisis in the United States in a century, and it may cause an economic crisis worse than the Great Recession. The two crises are intertwined because the steps necessary to contain the virus--social distancing and shuttering businesses--are crippling the economy. The nation's top economists tell us that we can't save the economy without winning the war against the disease. However, the state and local governments on the front lines tragically lack the resources they need to succeed. Already, we have lost more than 16,000 American lives to the coronavirus, and because of the exponential growth of the contagion, we may see more than 60,000 deaths in the United States. At the same time, almost 17 million Americans lost their jobs and applied for unemployment insurance benefits in the past three weeks. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs both predict that the unemployment rate soon will exceed 15 percent; many economists believe it is already higher. Due to the lack of consistent leadership from the White House, state and local governments have been forced to fight alone. Their hospitals already are overwhelmed, facing a dire shortage of beds, ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE). Soon, as doctors and nurses succumb to the virus or the stress of working under extreme conditions, states also will lack medical personnel to care for the sick and dying. The states face an impending fiscal catastrophe--with soaring costs and shrinking revenues. The root cause is that the contagion has forced businesses to close. As a result, the Economic Policy Institute projects that 18 to 28 million workers will lose their jobs by the end of June. The states, which provide most of the funding for unemployment insurance benefits, will be hit hard. As millions of workers lose their jobs and, as a result, their health coverage, Medicaid enrollment will increase sharply, and Medicaid costs will go through the roof as enrollees require treatment for the coronavirus. Medicaid is already the second largest spending category for states after education, and states cover, on average, about 40 percent of the cost of Medicaid spending with the federal government paying the rest. While these costs are skyrocketing, states are suffering from a dramatic drop in sales and income tax revenue as businesses close, consumers cut back on spending (and thus don't pay sales tax) and workers lose their jobs (and thus don't pay income taxes). State tax revenue alone could decline by as much as $175 billion. The states are in a fiscal straightjacket because all except for Vermont are required to balance their budgets, and their rainy day funds will not be enough to make up for the budget shortfalls they likely face. The decreases in revenue combined with higher spending and balanced budget requirements will force states to make drastic budget cuts, which means budget cuts at the local level as well. History has shown that these budget cuts will only hurt workers and families and prolong the recession. Congress has already passed three relief bills, which take important steps toward addressing these needs by supporting low- and middle-income Americans, those who have recently lost their jobs and small businesses. These bills include an increase in the federal government's share of Medicaid funding and $175 billion in aid to state and local governments. However, it is widely recognized that more federal aid for state and local governments is desperately needed. Increased federal funding for Medicaid would provide the greatest relief to state governments and reduce their fiscal strain. Without additional help, states could be forced to reduce Medicaid eligibility like they did in previous recessions, which would have disastrous effects on public health. Congress also should provide greater fiscal relief to state and local governments as the relief already provided will be insufficient to make up for decreased revenue and budget shortfalls. This additional relief should be flexible, allowing states to prioritize different funding challenges. Additionally, Congress should expand the additional investments in unemployment insurance included in the third relief bill. The next relief bill should include automatic triggers for the additional compensation and expanded eligibility criteria so that these provisions do not phase out until economic conditions warrant doing so. If Congress does not provide additional assistance, state and cities across the country will be ravaged not only by the disease but by the resulting economic damage. Our health and our future prosperity depend on us pulling together to give states and local governments the help they need.

By Rep. Don Beyer The United States is facing what could become the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. We must therefore take immediate, large-scale, once-in-a-century action to protect our public health and our economy. Just like the coronavirus pandemic itself, it is hard to imagine the magnitude of the possible economic devastation. A recent poll finds that almost one-fifth of American families report having lost their jobs or had their hours reduced because of coronavirus. Kevin Hassett, the former Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, says we could lose up to 1 million jobs this month. The stock market has dropped more than 30 percent from its peak. Goldman Sachs lowered its first-quarter GDP growth forecast to zero and estimates that GDP will contract at a 5 percent annual rate in the second quarter. Economists believe that the global pandemic has caused a global recession. The economic threat we face is massive because the steps we must take to contain the virus--especially staying home--will inevitably harm our economy. Seven million Bay Area residents already are sheltering in place; residents of other major cities may soon join them. As of Wednesday, thirty-nine states have closed public schools, with 42 million children home from school. The NBA, NHL, MLB and other major sports leagues have shut down. Broadway shows, festivals and concerts have been canceled. When stores and stadiums are empty and our cities look like ghost towns, consumer spending--the lifeblood of the economy--will lessen by hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars. The implosion in spending will lead to millions of fewer jobs, to even less spending--a downward spiral with no obvious end in sight. The Federal Reserve has taken unprecedented action to stimulate the slowing economy by slashing rates to almost zero percent, buying $700 billion in bonds to stabilize financial markets and launching a commercial paper facility to ensure companies have a market for their short-term debt. However, even these bold emergency measures may not be enough. Congress and the White House must work together to lessen the economic damage by injecting stimulus into the weakening economy. It is essential to provide large-scale support for small businesses who have lost customers and had to shutter operations. And we should put money directly into the hands of those who will be hurt most by measures necessary to contain the virus--workers who have lost their jobs or had their hours cut drastically and employees who have done the right thing and stopped going to work because they were sick. It is critical to provide laid-off workers substantially higher unemployment benefits for an extended period of time. We should cut a large check to American families to give them the means to support their families and the economy, and we should be prepared to do it regularly until the economy begins to recover. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have proposed providing a $2,000 payment for each adult and child immediately with additional payments in the summer and fall if the nation is still facing a crisis. One of the most effective forms of economic stimulus would be to substantially increase the portion of Medicaid costs covered by the federal government. Medicaid costs will soon explode as workers around the country lose their jobs, putting enormous pressure on state governments, many of which are forced to balance their budgets. The states desperately need our help to avoid cutting Medicaid in the middle of a public health crisis. The recent House-passed bill moved us in the right direction--we need to go even further. If the estimates of the probable economic devastation of the coronavirus are correct, the fiscal stimulus should be substantially larger than the over $900 billion (in today's dollars) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which in 2009 helped begin to pull the economy out of the worst of the recession. The White House is calling for $1.2 trillion--even that may be too little. Let's shoot higher--$1.5 trillion for a start--with more kicking in if conditions continue to deteriorate. Fiscal policy makers need to match the willingness of monetary policy authorities to do "whatever it takes" and ensure that the size of our response scales with the loss in spending elsewhere in the economy. We must be bold and move quickly. This is no time for a wait-and-see approach or for half measures. As someone who grew a successful business that thrived for decades, I know that "penny-wise-and-pound-foolish" and "too-little-too-late" can be fatal errors. Ten years from now, I would rather look back and have done too much than too little or too late. For the sake of our country, let us work together to quickly craft an economic response equal to the massive economic threat before us. Don Beyer represents Virginia's 8th District and is vice chair of the Joint Economic Committee. You can follow him on Twitter at @RepDonBeyer. You can follow the Joint Economic Committee Democrats on Twitter at @JECDems.

Beyer announced a self-quarantine on March 10, 2020, after learning that a friend he interacted with tested positive for coronavirus. Coronavirus pandemic Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryDaily updatesElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsSubmit COVID-19, also known as coronavirus disease 2019.