ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan, Chair of the National Governors Association, on Monday issued the following statement:

“Today, on behalf of the nation’s governors, I led another teleconference with the Vice President and the White House regarding our coordinated response to COVID-19.

“Governors are on the front lines of the on-the-ground response, implementing aggressive measures that are beginning to successfully flatten the curve of the spread of the virus. The COVID-19 response is resulting in catastrophic damage to state economies, and fiscal assistance is critical now so that we can continue leading this fight.

“The nation’s governors are urging Congress to act immediately and appropriate $500 billion specifically for the states and territories to meet our budgetary shortfalls that have resulted from this crisis.

“Without sufficient federal relief, states will have to confront the prospect of significant reductions to essential services, which will in turn devastate the economic recovery and our efforts to get people back to work.

“As I have said from the very beginning, this is not a time for politics. I have spoken to the leaders of Congress in both parties about the need for this relief. We have asked the administration to weigh in so that we can break this logjam in the Senate and get this done for the American people.”