WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed welcomed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally approving $36,645,382 in federal funding for Rhode island for Public Assistance (PA) grant projects to reimburse incurred costs from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), this federal funding covers past emergency expenditures and protective measures as a result of FEMA- DR-4505-RI (COVID-19 Pandemic), as authorized by Congress under Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Act through annual appropriations.

"It's good news that the Trump Administration is finally approving this much-needed federal financial reimbursement, which Rhode Island is rightfully owed," said Senator Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who noted that health care providers and large institutions across Rhode Island and the nation incurred substantial out-of-pocket costs during the pandemic and operated under the law that the federal government would provide them with timely reimbursements.

DHS's approval for $36.6 million in outstanding COVID-19 PA funding for Rhode Island includes grants for:

• $21,266,549 to the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) for management costs.
• $6,995,655 to Rhode Island Hospital for utilizing 233 laborers to provide emergency and inpatient clinical care, containment, and treatment of suspected and/or positive COVID-19 patients. Rhode Island Hospital also received $1,532,380 for management costs.
• $3,532,837 to the University of Rhode Island (URI) for emergency non-congregate shelter to URI students who tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.
• $3,317,960 to the Rhode Island Department of Administration for management costs.

On March 13, 2020, President Trump, under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster relief and Emergency Assistance Act, declared a federal disaster for the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the entire country. Since March 13, 2020, Stafford Act declarations were issued for every state, territory, and the District of Columbia, authorizing FEMA) to deliver disaster assistance nationwide related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ordinarily, federal disaster funding like this requires a 25-percent state and local match. But Senator Reed led the successful push to get then-President Joe Biden to waive the standard 25 percent non-federal cost share and authorize FEMA to cover up to 100 percent of eligible costs, if warranted by the extent of the disaster. Of these five FEMA awards, all but one are 100 percent covered by the federal government. The nearly $7 million reimbursement for Rhode Island Hospital is covered at 90 percent.

With this latest federal funding, FEMA has now provided more than $830 million in funding for Rhode Island's COVID-19 response to date.

"These federal dollars funded critical care. It is wrong for any Administration to try to delay or deny states from accessing the federal financial aid they were promised during an emergency. So it's good news this is finally getting out the door," concluded Reed.

Nearly 80 percent of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) budget - just over $35 million - comes from federal grants awarded by FEMA. The Trump Administration has proposed dismantling FEMA, which Senator Reed says is a non-starter that would require an act of Congress.

Earlier this week, President Trump nominated Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, after ousting him from the role earlier this year because Mr. Hamilton defended the agency's existence. The Trump Administration is currently on its fourth acting FEMA chief as Mr. Hamilton's nomination awaits Senate action.

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