Joe Biden rips into Mitch McConnell for opposing federal aid to states, saying 'there's a reason' the US government can rack up deficits

• Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ripped into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for opposing aid to states on Wednesday.
• Biden said, "States are in real trouble, and to quote my good friend Mitch McConnell, he said, 'Let the states go bankrupt.'"
• The comments signal Biden's intention to increase federal spending should he be elected in November, even if it adds on to the debt.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden slammed Republicans in fiery remarks on Thursday, focusing on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

At a press conference in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden assailed McConnell for opposing aid to cash-strapped states in the next coronavirus relief package.

"States are in real trouble, and to quote my good friend Mitch McConnell, he said, 'Let the states go bankrupt,'" the former vice president said, referring to the Kentucky senator's suggestion earlier this year that states should enter bankruptcy and restructure their budgets using that process.

McConnell drew fierce criticism from Democrats and governors of both parties for his remarks in late April, The Washington Post reported.

The bipartisan National Governors Association has called for $500 billion in additional assistance since state spending has soared as tax revenues plummet, wrecking their finances. From March to July, state and local governments shed 1.2 million jobs, according to the Labor Department.

Biden said states weren't able to go into debt to keep up their spending, unlike the federal government.

"States have to balance their budgets under the law. ... There's a reason why the federal government is able to run a deficit: to compensate in times of real economic crisis," Biden said. "And what's happening? Nothing, nothing."

The remarks further signal Biden intends to ramp up government spending should he beat Trump in November, even if it adds to the debt. The Congressional Budget Office forecast on Thursday that the federal deficit for 2020 would stand at $3.3 trillion, an amount three times larger than last year's figure.

Many experts — particularly on the left — say the US can afford to add to its debt, given that low interest rates reduce the cost of borrowing, and inflation is expected to remain low for the foreseeable future.

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Biden pointed to his management of an $800 billion stimulus package that Congress approved under President Barack Obama in 2009 during the Great Recession, saying, "We spent billions of dollars making sure that states were able to maintain their essential workers." He listed doctors, school teachers, and nurses as some workers who benefited.

The package did include significant federal help for states, but economists now say more aid should have been granted to speed up the economic recovery.

Biden also criticized the Trump administration's response to the pandemic, faulting the White House for its rosy outlook.

"This administration seems to think it's all of a sudden going to go away, like angel dust is going to be sprayed around — everything's going to be OK," he said. "I just don't get it. They have to know better."

Republicans initially left out funding for states in their $1 trillion stimulus bill. Democrats, however, called for $950 billion in state aid as part of the next economic rescue package.

The White House later countered with an offer of $150 billion for state aid in its discussions with top congressional Democrats, but they rejected it as a paltry amount. It's still a major hang-up in stalled stimulus negotiations.