No Help From Feds, Says Tennessee Governor Bill Lee

When Northeast Tennessee lawmakers return to Nashville next Monday, they will focus much of their attention on finding ways to address several revenue shortfalls due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and one place they won’t be looking for help is from the Federal Government. Governor Bill Lee says he no longer believes the state will get permission to use federal funding to help address those shortfalls. Earlier this year, Lee created the Stimulus Financial Accountability Group to oversee the distribution of federal COVID-19 relief money, which has been around 13 billion dollars thus far. The group will help determine what to do with the federal funds that had been set aside to offset any state budget shortfalls.