To survive financial storm of virus, states turn to Congress

State governments trying to weather the financial storm brought on by the coronavirus are borrowing billions of dollars and desperately trying to slash costs by furloughing workers, delaying construction projects, cutting aid to schools and even closing highway rest areas.

For many states, as well as local governments, the main hope for avoiding even deeper cuts is to get help from Congress, which returns from vacation this week.

In Nevada, lawmakers contending with a $1.2 billion budget gap have been unable to reach a deal on a spending plan. They passed a resolution last week urging Congress to step in.

“We are forced to make impossible decisions regarding funding critical public health, education and more," Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a statement. "Congressional leadership must act to help us restore devastating reductions being made to fill this historic shortfall.”

Before the pandemic, states generally were meeting revenue goals for their budget years. Now Congress has already allocated more than $3 trillion in coronavirus aid to individuals, businesses and governments that went into financial shock last spring as much of the nation’s economy shut down.

Unlike most states, the federal government is not required to have a balanced budget. The deficit this year is already a record $2.7 trillion.

The House passed a bill in May to provide another $3 trillion, with about a third of it going to state and local governments. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, is calling for a more modest package worth around $1 trillion total. He has not announced details, but he has said that school funding is a priority.

Bipartisan groups including the National Governors Association and the National League of Cities, along with a long list...