JEFFERSON CITY – Federal policymakers have provided a substantial amount of fiscal relief to state and local governments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, but Missouri and other states need much more to avoid spending cuts that would harm families, destabilize communities and deepen the recession, based on a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Missouri’s revenues are expected to plummet in the coming months while health, unemployment and other costs related to the virus soar and begin to deplete the state’s inadequate reserves – something Auditor Nicole Galloway warned about last year, prior to the virus. “Missourians are struggling, and our state’s economy reflects that. The situation will worsen when state revenues plummet and public costs spike,” Missouri Budget Project President and CEO Amy Blouin said. “Absent swift and significantly more federal assistance, Missouri will be forced to make dramatic spending cuts that hurt families, drive up inequality and…