Lawmakers demand explanation for cutting federal funding to states for National Guard deployments

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/05/lawmakers-demand-explanation-cut-national-guard-funding-392001

Nearly three dozen House Democrats on Wednesday demanded the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security explain why the Trump administration will no longer cover the full cost of National Guard deployments in 47 states and territories but will continue paying all the costs for Texas and Florida.

The lawmakers, led by Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Max Rose (D-N.Y.), assert in a letter shared with POLITICO that while the decision to now cover 75 percent of the Guard’s coronavirus relief efforts is the minimum allowed by law, it’s “not consistent" with past practice in federally-declared emergencies.

"For months, the federal government has covered all the costs for these crucial deployments, but now the Administration reverted to the statutory minimum, demanding that states contribute 25%," they write to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who oversee the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"This is not consistent with the treatment of these costs during previous disasters and undermines the overall response to the virus," they add.

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