Letter to Administrator Peter Gaynor, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, and Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller - Representative Tim Ryan and Ohio Delegation Members Urge FEMA, OMB and DOD to Support Governor DeWine's Request to Extend Federal Funding for Ohio National Guard's COVID-19 Response Mission

Letter

Dear Administrator Gaynor, Director Vought, and Acting Secretary Miller:

The Ohio National Guard has been instrumental in supporting the State of Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We, as a bipartisan, bicameral Ohio delegation, write to express our support for the request made by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to restore and extend full federal funding for up to 1,800 members of the Ohio National Guard through March 31, 2021.

On March 13, the President declared a nationwide emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic, and, on March 22, authorized full federal reimbursement for states' use of their National Guard under Title 32 for COVID-19 response activities, which was extended through August 21. The federal government is currently funding 75 percent of the Ohio National Guard's Title 32 response activities through December 31, 2020.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic challenges in Ohio. Since April, approximately 2,000 men and women of the Ohio National Guard have answered the call to serve their communities and help keep their fellow citizens safe. Ohio Guardsmen have significantly increased the response capacity in Ohio by maintaining testing sites, staging and distributing personal protective equipment, and assisting foodbanks in distributing more than 33 million pounds of food to Ohioans in need.

In particular, National Guard support has been critical to Ohio's testing operations for nursing homes. Nursing homes are required to conduct weekly testing for both staff and residents to help prevent an outbreak of the virus within a facility. When PCR tests are administered, the National Guard provides logistical and operational support, collecting the swabs for COVID-19 testing and returning the results.

We are encouraged by the recent, promising progress made in the development of vaccines against COVID-19, but the threat of the virus still remains. Transmission rates are already increasing in Ohio as we enter into the winter months, and the Ohio National Guard will continue to be an essential part of the State's ongoing response to the health crisis.

We fully support Governor DeWine's request and urge its immediate consideration. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Thank you,