May 11, 2020 9:40 a.m. 
Congressman Peter DeFazio is urging support for state and local governments in the next coronavirus aid package.
A release from DeFazio said he and two other colleagues are asking for help for the region’s frontline public service workers. DeFazio said the state and local levels of government should be given funds to pay healthcare workers, police, firefighters, teachers, and other frontline workers during the COVID-19 crisis.
DeFazio claims that Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell recently said he believes that states should be forced to file bankruptcy, putting the livelihoods of the frontline workers at risk.
DeFazio said, “even during the Great Depression, the federal government did not let a single state go bankrupt, yet the Senate Majority Leader is suggesting we do just tht during the coronavirus pandemic”. He said while frontline public service workers “continue to put their lives at risk every day, state and local governments are struggling to fund those services”. He said Congress must step in an ensure that those workers are protected in any subsequent relief legislation.
DeFazio was joined by two Washington state congressmen, in a press call on Friday.