Cuomo pushes to accelerate infrastructure projects after meeting with Trump

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Trump, Cuomo to meet in wake of New York's deadly nursing home situation

Trump 2020 campaign director of strategic communications Marc Lotter on expectations for the meeting.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday made the case for accelerating major infrastructure projects in his state and across the nation to jumpstart the economy amid the coronavirus crisis.

After meeting with President Trump at the White House, Cuomo delivered his daily press briefing from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

CUOMO: 'NO BETTER TIME TO BUILD THAN RIGHT NOW' 

Cuomo said that his meeting with the president “was not about politics,” but instead about strategies to “supercharge the reopening, especially in New York.”

“I think the president is focused on the reopening, on stimulating the economy, on getting the economy back. I think that’s his focus, and I think that’s the correct focus,” Cuomo said of Trump. “I think he understands that these are projects that need to get done.”

Cuomo was referring to large New York-centric infrastructure programs, like the Empire Station Project, which would build a new Penn Station in New York City; the construction on Laguardia Airport and the rail which would go from the airport to Manhattan; and others.

“I think the president acknowledges and realizes New York, we’re very aggressive about getting these projects done and getting them done on time,” Cuomo said. “This is not the typical government project.”

He added: “If he gives us the green light, this is not going to be long. I have a shovel in the back of my car. We’ll get started this afternoon.”

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Cuomo went on to acknowledge that Trump has sought a major infrastructure bill ever since taking office.

“When he ran for president, he talked about a $1 trillion infrastructure program,” Cuomo said. “He’s a builder, he’s a developer, he gets it and he believes in construction and development. It’s been his career.”

Cuomo noted that while Trump discussed it on the campaign trail, so did many others, noting former Vice President Joe Biden has campaigned on infrastructure, just as former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton had.

“It never happened. No one ever got it done,” Cuomo said. “The president’s administration can just do it and we can get it up and running.”

TRUMP CALLS FOR $2T INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE AS PHASE 4 OF CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

In March, Trump called for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill to serve as “Phase 4” of the federal government’s coronavirus response efforts. But a recent House-passed bill focused on other priorities and was decried by GOP critics for being even more expensive, at a cost of $3 trillion, and it's unclear whether another relief bill can be forged.

Meanwhile, Cuomo pleaded for federal aid for New York, and other largely Democratic states, reigniting his back-and-forth with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who encouraged states to instead consider filing for bankruptcy and has signaled he is not interested in passing a coronavirus stimulus package with funds for state and local governments.

“I understand politics -- the good, the bad and the ugly,” Cuomo said. “The House bill has funding for state and local governments. I know what the Republican senators are saying and first of all, it’s a lie. I know it’s a strong word, but they’re lying.”

Saying states like McConnell's Kentucky receive more money than they contribute into the federal budget, Cuomo went on to say that when “McConnell says…'why should we give New York and California more money,’ that's a lie — they know that they take more money.”

Last month, the Senate majority leader went on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” to say he would “certainly” be in favor of allowing states to use “the bankruptcy route” rather than sending governors more federal money to deal with their states’ deficits.

"I mean, we all represent states. We all have governors regardless of party who would love to have free money," McConnell said in response to a question on what the federal government should do to help states in tricky financial situations.

CUOMO SLAMS MCCONNELL'S STATE BANKRUPTCY PUSH: 'ONE OF THE REALLY DUMB IDEAS OF ALL TIME' 

McConnell then mentioned that many states are struggling with funding pensions or similar programs, saying "[t]here's not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations.”

On Wednesday, Cuomo shot back: “Take your blinders off, man. It’s not just about your state. What are you, going to get the economy up and running without New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey? Makes no sense.”

Cuomo went on to urge that Congress fully repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions. This provision has been highly unpopular in high-tax blue states like New York and California where those deductions are valuable to individual taxpayers.

“For the House members, they did pass a bill that has state and local funding and has the repeal of SALT in it. But if I am a congressperson for New York, I do not go home unless I have funding for New York state, I do not pass a bill that does not repeal SALT,” Cuomo said.

“If Washington doesn’t pass a bill, I would say to all of them, don’t bother going home because you will not see a reopening that you expect,” he continued. “You will see a fizzle of an economic rebirth and you will have really done a disservice to the fundamental premise of your office.”