Congressional Delegation Announces Montana National Guard Funding to Respond to COVID-19 Outbreak

Statement

Following a request last week from Congressman Greg Gianforte and U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, President Trump late yesterday directed his administration to provide funding to the Montana National Guard to help respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"With President Trump's swift action, the men and women of the Montana National Guard can respond to the threat of COVID-19 in our communities with full federal support," Congressman Gianforte said. "I appreciate President Trump acting to ensure our state, particularly the Montana National Guard, has resources it needs to combat the COVID-19 outbreak."

"I'm glad we were able to get the federal support necessary for the Montana National Guard to help our communities, first responders, and care providers on the front lines of the Coronavirus pandemic," Senator Daines said. "I thank President Trump for acting on our request to ensure we have the help needed to keep Montanans safe during this crisis. Thank you to the National Guard members currently supporting the mission to protect Montanans -- you all make Montana proud."

"Since the start of this outbreak, I've repeatedly called on the Administration to activate Title 32 authorities to give the men and women of the Montana National Guard the critical support they need," Senator Tester said. "Protecting the folks on the front lines is a national responsibility, and I'm glad the Administration agreed to our request to provide members of the Guard activated to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the same benefits and protections as their federally activated peers--as they continue to risk their lives and health to keep our communities safe."

On April 1, Gianforte, Daines, and Tester sent a letter to President Trump urging him to swiftly approve federal funding for the Montana National Guard to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

The federal funding was part of the CARES Act, signed into law on March 27. The bipartisan measure includes $1.4 billion for deployment of the National Guard. This funding level sustains up to 20,000 members of the National Guard under the direction of the governors of each state for the next six months to support state and local response efforts to the public health crisis.

President Trump's memorandum directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "to fund 100 percent of the emergency assistance activities associated with preventing, mitigating, and responding to the threat to public health and safety posed by the virus that these States undertake using their National Guard forces."

The memo also directs the Secretary of Defense to request governors "order National Guard forces to perform duty to fulfill mission assignments, on a fully reimbursable basis, that FEMA issues to the Department of Defense for the purpose of supporting their respective State and local emergency assistance."

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