Long Island elected officials will head to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to advocate for pandemic-related federal disaster relief for New York.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone says public health programs that provide mental health and addiction services to Long Islanders could be cut, if the federal government does not send additional money to local governments.
Bellone says the lobbying effort is to show lawmakers in Washington the human impact of the pandemic on hard-hit communities like Long Island.
“What we're talking about here at the end of the day is not numbers", he said. "This isn't about budgets, this isn't about dollars. At the end of the day, this is about people's lives and families in crisis.”
The trip comes as federal lawmakers try to hammer out a deal on another coronavirus stimulus package.
Nassau and Suffolk Counties both face budget shortfalls in the hundreds of millions.
Bellone withdrew a measure that would have redirected funds for drinking water protection and land preservation to fill the budget shortfall.
The County Legislature was expected to consider the measure on Tuesday, and if approved, it would’ve been put before the voters on the ballot.
Lawmakers in opposition of the measure had said Bellone was using the pandemic as an excuse for years of fiscal mismanagement.
Instead, Bellone will travel to D.C. on Wednesday to lobby Congress for more money for state and local governments
Bellone said without additional money, the county will have to reduce services and lay off staff to cover a $1.5 billion budget deficit over the next year.
