CINCINNATI, OH —Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) applauded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for announcing that $2.9 million will go to Ohio through their Emergency Management Performance Grant Program to help Ohio combat coronavirus. FEMA will award this grant from funds accessible thanks to the bipartisan CARES Act, signed into law recently by President Trump.
This grant program assists state and local government activities to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this program, FEMA will award funding to support planning and operational readiness for COVID-19 preparedness and response, as well as the development of tools and strategies for prevention, preparedness, and response, and ensure ongoing communication and coordination among federal, state, local, tribal and territorial partners throughout the response.
“This FEMA funding is great news for Ohio because it will help provide disaster relief that Ohio desperately needs during this ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” said Portman. “This pandemic has created significant and unprecedented challenges across Ohio and this $2.9 million grant will provide much-needed additional support for our response and recovery efforts. I will continue to work with Governor DeWine, local leaders, and my bipartisan colleagues in Congress to ensure that Ohio has the necessary resources during these uncertain times.”
The 2.9 Million grant comes from an additional $100 million in supplemental Emergency Management Performance Grant Program funds.
The money is available to all 50 states and six territories as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. All applications must be submitted by April 28.
Through EMPG, states and territories can make subawards to their local and tribal governments. The funds are used to assist these governments in their public health and emergency management activities supporting prevention of and response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
To assist in streamlining this grant program and make funding available as quickly as possible, FEMA is not requiring a completed work plan be submitted with an application. Instead the required work plan will be due by July 30.
Funding for this supplemental, or EMPG-S, is separate and distinct from any funding that will be awarded under the Fiscal Year 2020 EMPG funding notice that was announce Feb. 14. Each state and territory receive a base allocation for EMPG-S. The remaining balance of funds will be appropriated on a population basis.
