C I T Y

O F

P H I L A D E L P H I A
JAMES F. KENNEY

Office of the Mayor
215 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 686-2181
FAX (215) 686-2180

Mayor

April 17, 2020
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the residents of Philadelphia, I am writing to strongly urge that the “Interim
Supplemental” that is being negotiated with Congress to provide additional funding for
SBA Programs also include emergency fiscal assistance for cities.
Cities are the front line of fighting this pandemic as we take unprecedented actions to
protect public health and safety. However, at the same time that cities are incurring
extraordinary expenditures to respond to the health crisis at hand, cities are also
experiencing profound declines in tax revenue from the economic disruption caused by
the pandemic. This is particularly devastating to large cities like Philadelphia, which are
heavily dependent on income, business, sales, and other taxes that are highly sensitive to
the economy.
I respectfully ask that this “Interim Supplemental” proposal to include emergency fiscal
assistance to America’s cities. By providing direct, flexible funding that allows cities to
replace lost revenue is critically important to ensure that the economies of our
communities are best positioned to quickly rebound once the immediate health crisis
passes. Without this assistance, cities like Philadelphia will be forced to take drastic
steps to balance their budgets, including massive layoffs and drastic cuts to vital services,
which will deprive residents of the services they need, exacerbate the damage being done
to local economies and lessen the possibility of a speedy economic recovery.
Now, more than ever, we need your Administration to work urgently with Congress to
support additional resources for all states and localities so that they may address the
budgetary shortfalls that have resulted from the unprecedented COVID-19 public health
crisis.

 The Honorable Donald J. Trump
April 17, 2020
Page 2
The health of our people and our economies are dependent on your actions in the coming
days and weeks. I ask that you act decisively and expeditiously during this
unprecedented time for our nation.
Sincerely,

cc:

Senator Bob Casey, United States Senate
Senator Pat Toomey, United States Senate