Letter to the Honorable Peter Gaynor, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency - Amid Financial Challenges Faced by NH Schools, Shaheen Urges FEMA to Rescind Policy Change that Ends Reimbursements for PPE, COVID-19 Testing Supplies & Disinfectant

Letter

Dear Administrator Gaynor:
I write to express concern with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) recent
decision to an issue an interim policy on work eligible for public assistance that threatens to
hamstring states' efforts to acquire masks, disinfectants, testing supplies and other personal
protection equipment (PPE). Under this new policy, FEMA will only provide assistance for the
"purchase and distribution of PPE that is directly related to the performance of otherwise eligible
emergency work or is provided to healthcare workers, patients with confirmed or suspected
COVID-19 infection, and first responders."[1] I am concerned that limiting the eligibility for
public assistance in this manner will force New Hampshire communities to choose between
providing PPE, disinfectant and testing and funding other critical services.
FEMA's policy change threatens to limit New Hampshire's ability to provide these supplies to
schools, courts and other critical institutions whose operations do not qualify as emergency
work. States and localities are already facing budget shortfalls after months of responding to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently found that states will
face a cumulative $555 billion budget shortfall over state fiscal years 2020-2022.[2] The
Manchester, New Hampshire school district alone faces over $2.2 million in paid and
encumbered expenses that the district had expected FEMA to reimburse. The district is also
estimating over $11.3 million in COVID-19-related expenditures. If the federal government
cannot guarantee that the purchase and distribution of these vital resources will be reimbursed
through the Public Assistance Program, then New Hampshire school districts may not be able to
afford to supply PPE and other supplies when and where they are needed.
It is particularly concerning that this decision comes at a time when schools are attempting to
reopen and welcome students in a safe learning environment. The federal government should be
doing everything it can to support these efforts rather than making it more difficult for schools to
receive the resources they need to safely reopen. Masks are now recognized as one of the most
effective means of preventing the spread of COVID-19 when used appropriately and in
conjunction with other safety precautions. We need to make sure that schools and other
institutions can access these resources, particularly as we enter a flu season that could burden the nation's already strained health care infrastructure and put more people at risk of severe COVID19 health complications.
I urge you to immediately reverse this policy and make to clear to Congress any resource
constraints that the Agency faces in continuing to reimburse PPE purchases and other protective
measures such as disinfection and testing. I also ask that you clarify whether, under this policy
change, the Department of Health and Human Services will continue to supply these resources
that FEMA had previously reimbursed and, if so, what that process will entail for states seeking
to secure them. Since the start of this pandemic, the federal government has struggled to provide
the PPE, testing and other resources to keep our communities safe. This policy change appears to
only exacerbate that problem and handicap efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Thank you for your consideration of this request, and I look forward to your prompt reply.

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