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.