Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. made additional disaster assistance available to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by authorizing an increase in the level of federal funding for the Other Needs Assistance – Lost Wages Assistance (ONA-LWA) program that was authorized as a result of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing.

Under the major disaster declaration issued for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on April 1, 2020 and a subsequent amendment, the federal share was made available for ONA-LWA at 75 percent federal funding of the total eligible costs.         

Under the President’s order today, the non-federal cost share for ONA-LWA has been waived.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR [email protected]

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