Pappas praises FEMA reimbursement for local COVID-19 expenditures

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Congressman Chris Pappas  Photo/Andrew Sylvia

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, the Biden Administration signed a memorandum instructing FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security to reimburse 100 percent of COVID-related emergency expenses under the Stafford disaster declaration.

After months of advocacy and calls for the White House to authorize the reimbursements, Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) praised the announcement.

“This is an incredibly important development for New Hampshire school districts, cities, and towns as they continue to be on the front lines of this pandemic. It never should have come to this, but I’m pleased that after months of advocacy, our communities aren’t going to be stuck with the check from the federal government,” said Pappas, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “We have no more important obligation than to ensure that our schools, public transit, police, fire and EMS all have the supplies and resources needed to remain safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19. It was alarming and deeply troubling that FEMA changed course so suddenly to end its reimbursements to local governments for PPE and other essential COVID-19 expenses – essentially leaving our cities and towns to fend for themselves. That is why I co-sponsored legislation to right that wrong, and aggressively pushed the previous administration to take corrective action. I am pleased the Biden Administration was correct to quickly heeded our calls, reversed course, and won’t leave New Hampshire communities behind in the fight against COVID-19.”

Local officials were also pleased with the news after learning last year that they would not be reimbursed as originally expected.

“I’m thrilled the President announced today the expansion of 100 percent FEMA retroactive reimbursements to local communities,” said Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig.Throughout the pandemic, the City of Manchester and the Manchester School District made significant investments in PPE, cleaning supplies, and more. At a time when our community is facing unprecedented revenue shortfalls as a result of COVID-19, this move will allow us access to resources to combat the pandemic and keep employees, students and residents safe,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. I want to thank Congressman Pappas for leading the effort in Congress to restore FEMA funding.”

“Today’s announcement is great news for municipalities,” said NH Municipal Association Executive Director Margaret Byrnes. “Obtaining FEMA reimbursement for the nearly year-long COVID-19 pandemic is a high priority for our municipalities who have incurred and continue to incur unbudgeted COVID-related expenses. NHMA looks forward to providing support and information to our members to ensure that they receive the full reimbursement for this cost share adjustment.”

Cities, states, tribal and territorial governments across the country can now seek reimbursements retroactive to Jan. 20, 2020 for the following purposes.

  • Increased operating costs as a result of the pandemic, including the cost of operating virtual services and virus testing sites
  • Training activities; personal protective equipment for first responders and essential employees;
  • Medical equipment and other public health costs;
  • Increased costs of operating homeless shelters and providing food to affected individuals

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.