Congress helped private businesses. Now it’s time to help state and local governments.

“If left unaddressed, the unprecedented shortfall will force the state to make painful cuts that will hurt Maine families and make the recession worse — including widespread layoffs, cuts to education and health care, and reductions in state services and investments when they are needed most,” Sarah Austin, a policy analyst at the center and the report’s author, said in a press release.

“Congress must meet the severity of this fiscal crisis with substantial relief to protect families and state governments facing economic catastrophe,” Austin said.

Click here to read the full editorial, first published May 11, 2020, in the Bangor Daily News.