LOCAL Covid-19 expenses deemed ineligible under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program “may be charged” to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act, according to CNMI Public Assistance Officer Patrick C. Guerrero.
He also said that the $11.4 million in CNMI expenses related to non-congregate shelter/quarantine that was deemed ineligible for FEMA reimbursement is “entirely not related” to the $11 million in questioned costs mentioned by the Office of Inspector General in a report regarding the CNMI’s use of CARES Act funds.
Guerrero said the OIG desk review is a separate review of CARES Act funding.
His recent response to Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero’s inquiries pertained to the costs submitted by CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management that were determined to be ineligible under the FEMA Public Assistance Program.
“However, it is my understanding that these costs were/are eligible under the CARES Act and may be charged to that funding source,” Guerrero said.
He also noted that the OIG desk review of the CNMI’s expenditure of CARES Act funds cited “lack of documentation” as a reason for the questioned costs and not ineligibility under the CARES Act.
Guerrero said the $11.4 million in Covid-19 expenses deemed ineligible by FEMA were fully documented when the CNMI submitted the reimbursement applications to FEMA. The reason for denying these costs, Guerrero said, was due to other reasons and not “lack of documentation.”
To his knowledge, he said, his office submitted these costs to the Department of Finance so it could charge them to the CARES Act funds.
“If I recall correctly, we were only asked for figures and contract and/or invoice numbers. If some of these are the same costs that OIG sampled, then we certainly can provide full documents to make them eligible under CARES, if allowed,” Guerrero said.
Unfortunately, he added, FEMA “will not cover these costs and even if we’re allowed to re-submit these for consideration, the window to do so has passed as these were contracts from March 2020,” Guerrero said.
But “I believe the CNMI is still being given some time to submit a final report to the U.S. Treasury on the use of these funds and this might clear the…questioned costs,” he added.
