New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has dismissed the executive order signed by President Trump this weekend to extend unemployment benefits to help with pandemic recovery.
Cuomo said Trump's executive order does not meet the demand for economic relief.
One order extends pandemic unemployment benefits at $400 a week and directs cash-strapped states to cover 25%. Cuomo said that could cost New York up to $4 billion — a pricetag he called impossible amid the state's $14 billion budget shortfall.
He said the executive order is not a substitute for legislation. Cuomo has faced criticism from state lawmakers for his own use of executive action, including the dozens of orders he’s issued since the pandemic began.
Cuomo and several other governors, both Democrat and Republican, have been asking the federal government for more aid to make up for revenue plunges due to pandemic related economic shut downs. So far the two parties in Congress have not been able to agree on a package.
