Pappas votes to reimburse NH school districts for PPE and other COVID-related expenditures

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Chris Pappas on Nov. 4, 2020. Photo/Andrew Sylvia

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) voted to pass bipartisan legislation that would require FEMA to once again reimburse Manchester and other New Hampshire school districts for PPE and various other COVID-related expenses after the agency suddenly halted reimbursements in September.

H.R. 8266, the FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020 increases the federal cost-share for FEMA disaster assistance provided for COVID-19 pandemic assistance to 100% and for natural disasters declared in the calendar year 2020 to 90 percent.

“With school districts making hard choices about students and teacher safety, we have no more important obligation than to ensure they have the supplies and resources they need to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Pappas. “It was alarming and deeply troubling that FEMA changed course so suddenly this fall 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. The legislation we passed in the House today would correct that wrong and also help ease the overall financial burden on state and local government as they deal with unprecedented revenue shortfalls and increased COVID-19 expenses. I remain committed to fighting for additional federal resources for state, county, and local governments as they deal with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.”

 

“Throughout COVID-19, the Manchester School District made significant investments in ordering PPE, cleaning supplies, and more. When the decision was made to halt reimbursements for PPE, our school district was left paying $2.2 million in expenses, costs they were told would be covered by FEMA,” said Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig. “I want to thank Congressman Pappas for leading the effort in Congress to restore FEMA funding for school districts – which will ensure our schools have the PPE and cleaning supplies to keep our students, educators, and staff safe.”

The legislation expands and clarifies the uses of federal disaster assistance provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, authorizing states, local governments, and tribes to use emergency funds to pay for the following:

  • 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
  • Backfilling first responder positions

At last week’s Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, Mayor Craig broke down a current $9 million shortfall in the school district’s budget.

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.