Sisolak, other governors discuss recovery strategies in Washington

WASHINGTON — The nation’s governors met in person for the first time in two years Saturday to share strategies on economic recovery and disaster response as states are still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, was among those attending the 114th winter meeting of the National Governors Association, a bipartisan group.

“We’re working together to come up with solutions,” Sisolak told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Many states are grappling with an influx of federal cash from coronavirus relief packages and the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Federal requirements and spending guidelines are still being drafted, posing questions among state leaders on how to best use the resources.

“I think all the states are extremely interested in how we can get the best bang for the buck with the federal infrastructure dollars,” said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican and chairman of the National Governors Association, said the group of state leaders will meet with President Joe Biden and administration officials to home in on “specifics as to the flexibility the states have in investing that important money.”

Silver State

Roughly $4 billion is coming to Nevada through the $1.2 trillion infrastructure act to fix roads, repair bridges, revamp water systems and expand broadband access to rural and underserved communities in the state.

The Nevada government, its counties, cities and school districts also will receive another estimated $4.5 billion in assistance from coronavirus assistance packages.

Nevada businesses received loans and laid-off workers got increased unemployment benefits during the pandemic that, which hit the tourism and hospitality industries especially hard.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Mitch Landrieu, the president’s infrastructure implementation coordinator, were addressing the governors during the three-day conference, which concludes Monday with a White House luncheon with Biden.

Operation Gratitude

During the conference Saturday, governors’ spouses, including Kathy Sisolak, joined first lady Jill Biden and military leaders for Operation Gratitude in making 1,000 care packages to be distributed to National Guard members deployed abroad on coronavirus-related operations.

The spouses had a group picture taken with the first lady and the president.

“The good news is, you have masks on; you can deny you’ve been here,” the president joked.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s session was the first time the governors have met since the pandemic shut down travel and large meetings two years ago. Hawaii and Nevada were the states hardest hit by the pandemic, in terms of unemployment as businesses shuttered or cut back operations.

Since then, the large influx of federal money has placed many governors in the enviable position of being able to spend on roads, bridges, schools and other projects in an election year.

Sisolak, a first-term governor, faces a large field of GOP candidates jockeying for the nomination to challenge the incumbent in November.

Latest COVID-19 surge

Governors, like federal lawmakers who passed the spending bills, have praised the relief and infrastructure packages that have helped bail out states during the pandemic.

But some are demanding further administration help to continue the economic rebound and fight new strains of the coronavirus that threaten health and economic progress.

Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen joined several other Democratic senators last week in criticizing the Biden administration for failure to address “testing shortages” in states when the omicron variant of the virus surged.

This month, Sisolak secured 588,000 at-home COVID-19 test kits to be distributed in Nevada at libraries, child care centers, fire stations and through community groups. The tests were purchased with federal relief funds.

Hutchinson said that in Arkansas he was able to deploy National Guard units to help distribute aid and assist in vaccination efforts and care for people ill with COVID-19.

Although the meeting stressed bipartisan leadership, governors were largely split along party lines over Biden’s proposed $1.7 trillion social spending bill known as Build Back Better, which is stalled in Congress.

That legislation would extend child tax credits, cap prescription drug costs for seniors, provide free prekindergarten education and offer incentives for clean energy projects.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.