Municipal leaders from around Ohio are urging the U.S. Senate to pass the HEROES Act, the stimulus package already approved by the U.S. House.
They say Ohio cities have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic because many of them rely heavily on income taxes for revenue. And when people aren’t working, those funds are lost.
Cleveland City Councilman Blaine Griffin said many services will suffer further without more federal aid.
“If the HEROES Act does not pass, we stand to lose more than $1 billion that will go to Medicaid services, to direct funding toward cities for frontline workers who have been working hard through this pandemic,” he said.
Griffin participated in a Zoom call Thursday organized by Innovate Ohio with city leaders from Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo and Chillicothe.
They’ve directed a plea to Sen. Rob Portman, who they say plays a critical role in getting the legislation through the Republican-led Senate.
