COLUMBUS – President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration for Ohio and ordered federal help for state and local recovery efforts in the battle against the coronavirus.
Trump approved public assistance funds for the state but Gov. Mike DeWine’s request for individual assistance, including FEMA’s Crisis Counseling Program and Disaster Unemployment Assistance, is still under review, U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown said in a joint release.
“This pandemic has created significant and unprecedented challenges and local governments do not have the capacity to sufficiently respond to this major disaster. Therefore, this additional federal assistance is necessary to supplement response and recovery efforts,” wrote Brown, a Democrat, and Republican Portman in their joint statement.
Brown and Portman, along with the entire Ohio House delegation, sent a letter urging President Trump to act swiftly on DeWine’s request.