House Passes COVID-19 Reimbursement Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Alicia DelVento

06/25/2020 Alicia.DelVento@mahouse.gov

House Passes Legislation Authorizing Federal Reimbursement
for COVID-19 Expenditures

Gregoire Secures Funding for District

(BOSTON) Representative Danielle W. Gregoire (D-Marlborough) joined her colleagues yesterday in the House of Representatives in passing House Bill 4802, An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2020 to Authorize Certain COVID-19 Spending in Anticipation of Federal Reimbursement, with a vote of 158-0.

Funding for this legislation is available through the $45 billion that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal programs received to relieve states’ COVID-response cuts. It was critical that Massachusetts develop this authorization bill to ensure the reimbursement mechanism was triggered. This legislation will provide spending authorizations through the end of fiscal year 2021 and will cover monitoring, treatment, containment and prevention of COVID-19. These authorizations will also cover emergency housing aid, early intervention telehealth services, as well as food assistance for the Commonwealth. Additionally, House Bill 4802 provides funding for personal protective equipment, emergency child care, health care support for community health centers and behavioral health service, and homelessness support.

Furthermore, Representative Gregoire was able to include critical funding for the three communities she serves, securing close to $500,000 for Marlborough, Northborough and Westborough. This funding includes:

• $289,650 for the Marlborough Public Schools to replace equipment, purchase and distribute hot spots for increased internet access and provide further assistance for continued remote learning
• $25,000 for the Westborough Food Pantry, $25,000 for Northborough Community Services and $40,000 for the Marlborough Food Pantry to combat COVID related food insecurity for students, seniors and other vulnerable populations
• $16,000 for Northborough Youth and Family Services for crisis management and referral
• $10,000 for Northborough, $10,000 for Westborough and $20,000 for Marlborough to secure their allotment of personal protective equipment

“I am grateful for Speaker DeLeo’s leadership and the work of Chairman Michlewitz on developing this legislation and recognizing the importance of the programs and services that I brought to their attention,” said Representative Gregoire. “I am hopeful that this funding will allow our schools and community programs to continue the critical work that they have been doing throughout this pandemic.”

This legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.

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