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Letter to the Hon. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - Stanton Urges Federal Government to Ease Financial Burden of COVID Response for States, Cities and Tribes

Letter

By: Raul Grijalva, Ami Bera, Eric Swalwell, Salud Carbajal, Tony Cárdenas, Jimmy Gomez, Gil Cisneros, Harley Rouda, Jason Crow, Jim Himes, Darren Soto, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Donna Shalala, Ed Case, Dan Lipinski, Jan Schakowsky, Cheri Bustos, Ruben Gallego, Jerry McNerney, Anna Eshoo, Julia Brownley, Brad Sherman, Norma Torres, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Juan Vargas, Ed Perlmutter, Jahana Hayes, Val Demings, Ted Deutch, Hank Johnson, Jr., Jared Huffman, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Judy Chu, Grace Napolitano, Raul Ruiz, Mark Takano, Diana DeGette, Joe Courtney, John Rutherford, Charlie Crist, Jr., Frederica Wilson, David Scott, Bobby Rush, Danny Davis, Bill Foster, Sharice Davids, Joe Kennedy III, Bill Keating, David Trone, Elissa Slotkin, Rashida Tlaib, Emanuel Cleaver II, Alma Adams, Joshua Gottheimer, Don Payne, Jr., Xochitl Torres Small, Steven Horsford, Grace Meng, Jerry Nadler, José Serrano, Anthony Brindisi, Marcy Kaptur, Peter DeFazio, Chrissy Houlahan, Jim Langevin, Al Green, Eddie Johnson, Gerry Connolly, Derek Kilmer, Mark Pocan, Greg Stanton, Aumua Amata Radewagen, John Garamendi, Jackie Speier, Jimmy Panetta, Adam Schiff, Ted Lieu, Linda Sánchez, Maxine Waters, Joe Neguse, Rosa DeLauro, Stephanie Murphy, Kathy Castor, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Michael San Nicolas, Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lauren Underwood, John Yarmuth, Katherine Clark, Dutch Ruppersberger, Jamie Raskin, Andy Levin, Brenda Lawrence, Kilili Sablan, Chris Pappas, Frank Pallone, Jr., Mikie Sherrill, Ben Luján, Jr., Thomas Suozzi, Nydia Velázquez, Max Rose, Eliot Engel, Joe Morelle, Marcia Fudge, Brian Fitzpatrick, Conor Lamb, Jim Cooper, Vicente Gonzalez, Colin Allred, Stacey Plaskett, Pramila Jayapal, Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Casten, Brad Schneider, André Carson, Jim McGovern, Stephen Lynch, Anthony Brown, Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell, Lacy Clay, Jr., David Price, Andy Kim, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Deb Haaland, Susie Lee, Gregory Meeks, Yvette Clarke, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Paul Tonko, Joyce Beatty, Earl Blumenauer, Madeleine Dean, David Cicilline, Lizzie Fletcher, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bobby Scott, Suzan DelBene, Denny Heck, Cedric Richmond, Ayanna Pressley, John Sarbanes, Chellie Pingree, Haley Stevens, Angie Craig, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Donald Norcross, Albio Sires, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Dina Titus, Kathleen Rice, Hakeem Jeffries, Adriano Espaillat, Nita Lowey, Brian Higgins, Tim Ryan, Dwight Evans, Mike Doyle, Jr., Steve Cohen, Veronica Escobar, Filemon Vela, Jr., Peter Welch, Adam Smith
Date: April 20, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Health and Health Care Federal, State and Local Relations

Dear Mr. President:

We appreciate the steps you took to declare a nationwide emergency pursuant to Sec. 501(b) of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207 (the
"Stafford Act"). We also appreciate the approval of major disaster declaration requests pursuant
to the emergency declaration by 50 U.S. states, tribes, and territories. We agree that the severity
and magnitude of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has the potential to cause severe
consequences for our country's national and economic security. Given the unprecedented nature
of this pandemic, we urge you to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) non-Federal cost share currently required under these declarations to help state, local,
tribal and territorial governments fight this global pandemic.

Since your initial nationwide emergency declaration, the number of positive cases has grown
rapidly. Our nation now leads the world in confirmed COVID-19 cases. We worry the worst has
yet to come. 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. Increasing the federal cost share
of FEMA public assistance provides much-needed relief in additional federal assistance for state,
local, tribal and territorial governments. Our request empowers those entities to focus their
limited resources on containing and mitigating the virus.

Raising the federal cost share is not unprecedented and within your authority under Sec. 501(b)
of the Stafford Act, which states "… the primary responsibility for response rests with the United
States because… the United States exercises exclusive or preeminent responsibility and
authority." This authority has been invoked in times of past national crises. The federal portion
of FEMA public assistance cost share has also been adjusted during the aftermath of Hurricane
Sandy in 2012, the devastating flooding in Louisiana in 2016, and the aftermath of Hurricane
Irma in 2017. As our entire country faces the daunting challenge of defeating this global
pandemic, the full capacity of the federal government needs to be used so those on the front lines
can focus on saving lives and protect our most vulnerable populations.

Thank you very much for your attention to our request to help our state, local, tribal and
territorial governments. It is an important and urgently needed step that will help our nation
combat this global pandemic.

Sincerely,


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