WASHINGTON – FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor approved Rhode Island for a FEMA grant under the Lost Wages Assistance program. FEMA’s grant funding will allow Rhode Island to provide $300 per week – on top of their regular unemployment benefit – to those unemployed due to COVID-19. FEMA will work with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to implement a system to make this funding available to Rhode Island residents.
On Aug. 8, President Trump made available up to $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to Americans who have lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the state of Rhode Island agreed to administer a lost wages program for its citizens who are unemployed due to COVID-19.
FEMA looks forward to working with the governors of additional states who agree to administer a lost wages program to bring financial relief to unemployed Americans.