The spread of COVID-19 has unleashed a health and economic crisis of unprecedented scope. As millions of workers lose their jobs, states revenues from income and sales taxes will also decline. At the same time, states are spending more to provide essential services and administer support to struggling families during the pandemic. This means that states will be facing tremendous budget shortfalls for the remainder of this fiscal year, and the next several.

While the federal government provided some funds to states in its initial response to COVID-19, it must do more to mitigate the economic devastation from COVID-19 and ensure an equitable recovery.