NJ Cities Deserve Fair Share of Federal Coronavirus Help

Piscataway Mayor Wahler Cites Zero Help in Last Bill, Calls on U.S. House Members to Get NJ Cities Money in Next One

April 13, 2020 – With the U.S. House of Representatives slated to bring up a fourth coronavirus relief bill, Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler is calling on its New Jersey members to make sure that municipalities in the Garden State are eligible for funding.

While lawmakers previously passed the CARES Act, its $150 billion in direct assistance to cities was only for those with at least 500,000 residents – and that eliminated eligibility for all New Jersey municipalities.

“The tri-state area is buckling under the extraordinary weight of the coronavirus crisis,” Wahler said.  “Local governments can meet the unexpected and significant needs of our residents, but federal help is key to our mission.”

Wahler wrote a letter to the twelve U.S. House members from New Jersey, asking them to co-sponsor the Coronavirus Community Relief Act (H.R. 6467) which would provide $250 billion to cities across America that have populations under 500,000, and work to include the measure’s language in the expected, fourth Covid-19 bill.

 “With New Jersey in the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak and long providing the federal government with more revenue than it receives back in funding, the merits of direct aid to cities in our state is overwhelming,” Wahler added.