ALBANY COUNTY — Congressman Paul Tonko does not think that local and state governments will receive federal aid as part of the “interim model” currently being hashed out in Congress, but he is hopeful the fourth round of coronavirus aid will include those funds.

“Congress has already passed three bills to address the pandemic, the last being the CARES Act, which is now being worked on in an interim model,” Tonko, the Democrat representing the Capital Region, said through video conference at Albany County’s press briefing on Monday morning.

He noted that $359 billion had been released in 14 days and the secretary of the treasury had asked Congress to offer $250 billion more.

“Our challenge was to make sure not only do we address small businesses” — which Tonko called “the backbone of our economy” — “but I think it’s also important to have assistance to our hospitals and to our local governments and to our state governments,” he said.

“As we speak, there is a near agreement,” Tonko said, suggesting that a deal could be struck “today or tomorrow.”

The nearly-agreed-upon package, he said, includes “a sizable investment in testing, a sizable investment in hospitals and our nursing homes, and an investment in the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses and the disaster aid for small businesses.”

He went on, “Unfortunately, at this time, the Republican leadership in the Senate and Republicans in general are not inclined to support state and local government spending in this interim package … They’re going to put that in the fourth iteration.”

Tonko noted that New York was the epicenter of the crisis and he said the state should be “treated fairly.” He said, too, that small governments also need to be reimbursed.

Local governments, Tonko said, “are witnessing skyrocketing costs” to fight the pandemic while, at the same time, as businesses are closed, “the revenues are falling through the floor.”

Tonko also stressed the importance of funds for testing — “we cannot resolve this without testing,” he said — and the need for more personal protective equipment for first responders and health-care workers.

Asked about an initiative to investigate governors who have issued shelter-in-place orders, Tonko said, “I think the governors are acting in the best interest. They’re providing for a physical distancing so we stay socially connected but physically disconnected so that we’re not causing a spread of this virus …

“I think states with the best results had strong executive decisions,” Tonko said, adding that, without a community response, the nation would fail in controlling the virus.

Tonko called for government to be led by science. He concluded, “Let science rule. Make sure everyone works in tandem.”

“It’s about partnerships right now, not party lines,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.