WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today Rep. Greg Stanton and members of Arizona’s congressional delegation sent a letter to House leaders asking that financial relief for universities be included in future coronavirus aid packages. 

Reps. Tom O’Halleran, Ann Kirkpatrick, Raúl M. Grijalva, Paul Gosar, David Schweikert, Ruben Gallego and Debbie Lesko co-signed the letter, which was addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey and Ranking Member Kay Granger.

The letter notes that more than 150,000 Arizona university students have been moved to online platforms to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  The financial impact is adding up quickly from the costs of additional health and public safety services and infrastructure; counseling and mentoring; maintaining the residential campus; technology hardware and services to move courses online; as well as lost revenue related to tuition, fees and room and board. The costs amount to approximately $25 million at Arizona State University, $63 million for the University of Arizona, and $10 million for Northern Arizona University.

On Wednesday night, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the second emergency funding measure this month. 

The full letter is available here