Millions in FEMA funds on hold for Michigan

UPPER MICHIGAN (WLUC) - We’re continuing to track federal funding freezes and how that’s impacting us in the U.P.

Millions of dollars in reimbursement funding for the state of Michigan are currently on hold from FEMA.

Federal funding put on hold for Michigan includes some relief for the 2018 floods in the Houghton area.

Emergency Management Deputy State Director Captain Kevin Sweeney says for Michigan, there are currently $56 million in reimbursement requests on hold. He says that number could balloon to $300 million as delays continue.

Though, he says these cuts will not affect state police.

“These are emergency management type grants,” Sweeney said. “They’re used for disaster recovery efforts, mitigation projects and more. But nothing that is affecting our troopers that are working the road.”

Sweeney says no reimbursements have been processed since February 11.

Marquette County Emergency Manager Brian Hummel says for funds that haven’t been completely frozen, a manual review step has been added in the approval process.

“I anticipate that that will probably lengthen the amount of time it takes to get reimbursement out to local governments like ours,” Hummel said. “That could delay things as much as a couple of months of time, maybe longer, I guess time will tell.”

In a statement, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-1st Congressional District) says he’s working to ensure funds get to where they need to be without getting lost in bureaucratic processes:

“I support the Trump Administration’s effort to weed out waste, fraud, and abuse in the government. This temporary pause on federal aid is a necessary step to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and responsibly.”

Sweeney says he’s hopeful federal funding will start flowing again.

Though, he says there are already discussions happening at the state level as to backup plans to handle emergency responses without federal funding.

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