WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) today called on President Trump to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to waive all cost-share requirements for states responding to the global Coronavirus pandemic. On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency related to the outbreak, authorizing federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts. Under the Public Assistance program, emergency work, including Direct Federal Assistance, is authorized at 75 percent federal funding, and state, tribal, and local entities are responsible for the remaining 25%. Due to the scale of the ongoing public health crisis and enormous costs associated with recovery efforts DeFazio and Peters are now urging the Administration to increase the federal cost-share to 100 percent. DeFazio’s and Peters’ efforts are supported by the National Governors Association.
DeFazio serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Peters serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, both of which oversee FEMA.
“With over 825,000 cases and 45,000 deaths in the United States, the unprecedented nature of the necessary COVID-19 response stretches beyond the capabilities of the states and warrants the full resources and support of the federal government,” DeFazio and Peters wrote. “Our nation’s governors are calling for robust support from the federal government as they navigate the response to this pandemic.”
The National Governors Association made a similar request earlier this month and support DeFazio’s and Peters’ efforts to waive all cost-share requirements for assistance related to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Text of the letter is copied below and available here.
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