US President Donald Trump’s declaration yesterday that the Covid-19 outbreak is a “national emergency” allows billions of federal dollars and resources to be funnelled to hard-hit states.

National emergency

Declaring that the coronavirus outbreak in the US constitutes a national emergency, Trump invoked the Stafford Act.

The act was passed by Congress in 1988 to provide federal assistance to state and local governments in order to “save lives, and to protect property and public health and safety”.

It can also be called on to provide federal aid to state and local governments to help them respond to “major disasters”, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis or fires.

“Only the federal government can provide the necessary coordination to address a pandemic of this national size and scope caused by a pathogen introduced into our country,” said Trump in a letter to department chiefs informing them that he is invoking the act.

In a proclamation, he also cited sections of the National Emergencies Act (NEA) to expand the authority of the health and human services secretary to deal with the crisis.

NEA gives the White House sweeping powers to declare martial law, suspend civil liberties, expand the military, seize property, and restrict trade, communications and financial transactions.

Fema

The Stafford Act gives the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), part of the Homeland Security Department, the authority to tap into a disaster relief fund.

The Fema fund had US$42.6 billion (RM182 billion) at the end of last month, but Trump told a press conference that “up to US$50 billion” will be made available.

In a letter to the president on Wednesday, 36 Democratic senators urged him to draw on the fund to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, which has caused more than 2,000 infections and 47 deaths in the country.

“State and local officials are working hard to mitigate the outbreak and protect Americans, and ongoing federal resources are badly needed to support those efforts,” they said.

The funds can be used for a variety of purposes, including testing, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring, as well as making available medical equipment and temporary shelter, such as tents or portable buildings.

Federal authorities will assume 75% of the cost, while states contribute the remaining 25%.

Precedents

President Bill Clinton issued an emergency declaration under the Stafford Act in 2000 to assist the states of New York and New Jersey in fighting an outbreak of the West Nile virus.

President Barack Obama invoked NEA to respond to an outbreak of the H1N1 swine flu in 2009, and president George W. Bush invoked it after 9/11.

Trump invoked NEA in February last year to obtain funding refused by Congress for his US-Mexico border wall.

He used the Stafford Act previously to deal with devastating wildfires in California and flooding in the Midwest.

Trump later threatened to cut off Fema funding for California unless the state’s forest management authorities “get their act together”, a threat that was widely condemned and one that was never carried out.

Other measures

The Health and Human Services Department declared a public health emergency on January 31, allowing the federal government to take measures to stem the outbreak.

The move allowed Trump to impose a ban on visitors from China, Iran and mainland Europe, and place persons suspected of having contracted the virus in quarantine.

Yesterday, he said he is considering extending the travel ban to visitors from Britain.

The governors of 33 of the 50 US states have already declared states of emergency because of the virus, giving them the power to take steps such as closing schools or banning public gatherings. – AFP, March 14, 2020.