Warren, Markey Urge Senate Appropriations Leaders to Increase Funding to FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program to Support New Arrivals

Letter

Dear Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins:
We urge you to support an increase in funding for the Federal Emergency Management
Agency’s (FEMA) Shelter and Services Program (SSP) in the upcoming appropriations bill
for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for fiscal year (FY) 2024.
FEMA’s SSP has become a critical lifeline for local communities hosting newly arriving
migrants. SSP, which replaced FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian
(EFSP-H) last year, provides federal funds to nonprofits, as well as state, local, and tribal
governments, that operate shelters for migrants. SSP funds can be used for shelter costs, food,
medical care, transportation, and other essential services.

Earlier this month, the Senate voted against a supplemental appropriations bill that would
have allocated up to $1.4 billion for SSP — though with conditions requiring Immigration
and Customs Enforcement to ramp up its detention and deportation capacity in order to
unlock one-third of that amount. The Senate then failed to advance an amendment to the
supplemental bill H.R. 815 that we and several of our colleagues introduced and that would
have appropriated $5 billion for SSP without conditions.
It is critical that the upcoming appropriations bill include sufficient funding for SSP. President
Biden requested $1.4 billion in SSP funds for FY 2024. But as local officials and members of Congress have repeatedly noted, $1.4 billion is insufficient to meet the migrant shelter needs
of border and interior communities. Massachusetts alone anticipates spending roughly $900
million on its emergency shelter system during FY 2025, and nearly half of the families in its
shelter system are newly arriving migrants. We therefore urge that you support appropriating
enough SSP funds to meaningfully relieve the budgetary burden on state and local host
communities. We specifically request the allocation of $5 billion in SSP funds.

SSP funding is vital for the Commonwealth. Massachusetts is the only state in the country
with a law that guarantees families a right to shelter. Since August 2022, demand for shelters
has ballooned, and Massachusetts has scrambled to find additional spaces to use as shelters,
turning to motels, a military base, university dormitories, and other temporary locations. In
November 2023, the state hit its shelter capacity limit of 7,500 and now maintains a rapidly
growing waiting list of over 650 additional families who are eligible for shelter but remain unhoused. Some of the waitlisted families are in overflow sites,but even those sites are
full, leaving others to sleep in airport lobbies and cars in below-freezing weather. The
Commonwealth is working tirelessly to help migrant families secure long-term housing and
rental assistance, as well as employment authorizations and job opportunities, so that they can
exit the shelter system and support themselves. But in the short term, the Commonwealth
urgently needs an influx of federal assistance to meet migrants’ housing needs.

SSP funding for Massachusetts to date has been inadequate. Last year, Massachusetts
received $1.9 million in SSP funding, out of the $363 million made available nationwide
during the summer of 2023. Massachusetts requires additional SSP funding to cover even a
fraction of the state’s costs for its migrant response.

The SSP appropriation language should maximize funding access for the full range of
migrants and service providers in need. First, we encourage you to include a proviso stating
that SSP funds are not limited to entities that previously applied for or received SSP or EFSPH funds. Second, we ask that you encourage a competitive grant process for the distribution of
at least a portion of SSP funds and ensure that any distribution formula account for data on the
final destination of migrants. Additionally, SSP funds are currently only available for
migrants who are within 45 days of release from DHS custody, meaning that migrants who
have taken 46 days to reach Massachusetts are excluded from SSP assistance, even if they
have not spent a single night in a shelter. Congress should make clear that SSP funds can be
used for migrants who were released from Customs and Border Protection custody more than
45 days ago.

Massachusetts is committed to welcoming new arrivals and is striving to ensure that each
family in the state lives with dignity and in safe, stable housing. At the same time, meeting the
needs of newly arriving migrants is a national responsibility, and the federal government must
ramp up its assistance to state and local host communities.

Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Source