A bipartisan coalition of sitting House members signed a letter today addressing President Trump to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s nonfederal cost sharing provision.
FEMA’s cost share provision requires a portion of emergency federal funds be matched by state contributions or other nonfederal sources, per the FEMA website.
In a letter signed by 175 bipartisan House representatives, which makes up about 40 percent of the House of Representatives overall, Representatives Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.) called for the removal of FEMA’s nonfederal cost share to support local jurisdictions in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
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Among the signatories were Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.).
“It is vital the federal government leverage the full weight of its resources to allow state, local, tribal and territorial governments to dedicate their limited resources to outbreak response efforts in their fight against the spread of COVID-19,” the letter reads. The letter also urges President Trump to increase the federal cost share so that states and territories can “focus their limited resources on containing and mitigating the virus,” providing “much needed relief” for jurisdictions across the country.
This follows Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) making the same request to FEMA to waive its cost sharing, stating that “Michigan alone cannot sustain without further federal assistance.”
Pascrell shared these sentiments, stating that “states and local municipal budgets are being hammered by this crisis. We need to do everything we can to help keep them focused on fighting the virus, not on their budgets.”
The letter also noted that the cost sharing requirements have been waived or adjusted in past disasters and emergencies, including for Louisiana when it saw deadly flooding in 2016, as well as during Hurricanes Sandy and Irma.
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