Cooper leads DC delegation pushing for federal hurricane relief

Gov. Roy Cooper led a delegation of state and local leaders to Washington, D.C. this week, requesting $25.57 billion in federal aid for Helene recovery support. Cooper met with President Biden and North Carolina federal legislators Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd and Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-D11. 

This week, I sat down with @NC_Governor and elected officials from western North Carolina to thank them in person for their partnership as we continue our focus on hurricane recovery.

We’re doing everything we can to get your communities what they need in these difficult times. pic.twitter.com/ad8Ti8s2h8

— President Biden (@POTUS) November 21, 2024

“Hurricane Helene was the deadliest and most damaging storm our state has ever faced, and Western North Carolina needs our help to rebuild,” said Governor Cooper in a press release. “There is a long, complex, and expensive recovery ahead that will be difficult to accomplish without significant and immediate funding from federal and state governments.” 

The preliminary assessment from the NC Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) estimates total damages to be $53.6 billion, more than three times the damage caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018. 

“Hurricane Helene is the worst storm in our state’s history, causing the tragic deaths of more than 100 North Carolinians,” reads the request. “Helene caused a staggering amount of destruction to housing, infrastructure, and our economy.”

The request includes $7.41 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation and FEMA for transportation needs, which provides for rebuilding and repairing interstates, highways, state and municipal roads and bridges, railroad tracks, general aviation airports, and almost $6 billion from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing recovery, economic revitalization, water quality and infrastructure, rebuilding private roads and bridges and more.

It also includes $1.75 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Community Disaster Loan Program; $1.67 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for crop and timber loss relief, watershed protections, conservation, forest restorations, rural water and waste disposal; and, $1.23 billion from the Small Business Administration from the Home and Personal Property Disaster Loan Program, and loans covering physical damage and economic injury.

“Senator Budd and the delegation led by Governor Cooper had a positive, productive meeting,” a spokesman from Budd’s office told the Carolina Journal. “Senator Budd reiterated his promise to help secure the federal resources that Western North Carolina needs as quickly as possible.”

On Wednesday, Tillis testified before the US Senate Appropriations Committee requesting to expedite a federal appropriations bill for states impacted by Hurricane Helene. 

“While the national media may have already stopped covering the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene, I will keep doing everything in my power to ensure Congress passes disaster relief as soon as possible so Western North Carolina can begin the long-term recovery process,” said Senator Tillis in a press release. “We had a very productive meeting today with our state’s federal, state, and local leaders, exchanging ideas on how to cut red tape to more efficiently deliver aid and sharing our bipartisan commitment to make Western North Carolina whole again.”

In October, Cooper recommended that the North Carolina General Assembly pass a $3.9 billion package to rebuild critical infrastructure, homes, businesses, schools, and farms damaged during the storm. The NCGA passed a third round of disaster relief funding on Wednesday. To date, more than $1 billion in disaster relief has been approved by the state legislature.

The latest disaster funding bill currently sits on Cooper’s desk awaiting his signature or a veto. 

The post Cooper leads DC delegation pushing for federal hurricane relief first appeared on Carolina Journal.