WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin and David Trone (all D-Md.) today announced $67,724,611 in U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to reimburse the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for previous COVID-19 testing costs.

Funding is authorized by Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Act. The federal dollars will be used to pay for more than 1.3 million COVID-19 PCR tests that were administered to Maryland public school students and staff between July 20, 2021 and May 31, 2022.

“Testing has been a critical step in curbing the spread of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. This federal reimbursement will allow our schools to continue prioritizing the health of our students and campus communities,” said the lawmakers.

Team Maryland urged and advocated for both the Trump and Biden administration to waive the standard 25 percent non-federal cost share of FEMA assistance during the pandemic. This funding is now 100 percent covered by the federal government. To date, Maryland has received more than $260 million in pandemic relief from FEMA.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act allows FEMA to take actions and distribute funding in emergency situations.