![Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are calling on Congress to approve $500 billion in budget relief for states struggling with the coronavirus.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c981ddb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2241x2988+875+0/resize/150x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2020%2F04%2F11%2Fap_201016551503671-3e7fbd3c396f0c404d6e909db2e8c8ed53f1722a.jpg)
Kelsey Snell
Kelsey Snell is a Congressional correspondent for NPR. She has covered Congress since 2010 for outlets including The Washington Post, Politico and National Journal. She has covered elections and Congress with a reporting specialty in budget, tax and economic policy. She has a graduate degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. and an undergraduate degree in political science from DePaul University in Chicago.
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Governors are signaling a dire financial picture for states as Congress spars over including state and local funds along with additional money for small business loans.
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Over the past 10 years, the IRS budget has been reduced by roughly 20%, leaving the agency with aging technology and forcing it to cut back on staff and training.
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Democrats want to funnel the extra funding through community-based financial institutions, which they say help businesses owned by minorities, veterans and rural Americans across the country.
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The economic relief bill provides help to individuals, businesses, hospitals, as well as state and local governments. Here are the details.
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The CARES Act offers relief to state and local governments, individuals, small and large businesses, and hospitals affected by the coronavirus crisis.
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The House speaker said a Senate agreement could be "done in the next few hours." The remarks are a boost for an approximately $2 trillion deal to revitalize an economy hobbled by the outbreak.
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But two of Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie's Republican allies, Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Paul Gosar of Arizona, defended him against the attack.
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The emergency relief package includes direct payments to Americans, expanded unemployment insurance, aid to large and small businesses, and significant funding for the health care industry.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer negotiated late into the night with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and spoke hopefully of a deal coming together on Tuesday.
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The Senate is hoping for a vote on Monday, but congressional leaders said on Sunday they have yet to reach agreement on what would be the largest bill yet in response to the outbreak.