North Carolina may soon receive much-needed federal dollars to help with disaster relief, contingent on negotiations related to a stopgap spending bill that Congress must pass before adjourning for the holidays.
Carolina Public Press reported last month that the costs associated with Tropical Storm Helene exceeded $53 billion in North Carolina alone, although neither the state legislature nor the federal government has allocated enough money to pay for even half of the expenses up to this point.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper petitioned Congress and President Joe Biden for more aid, asking for $25.6 billion across 14 federal agencies in a comprehensive request sent on Nov. 13.
[Subscribe for FREE to Carolina Public Press’ alerts and weekend roundup newsletters]
Marcia Evans, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, told CPP on Tuesday that there has been no formal response to Cooper’s request. However, Biden and several of North Carolina’s members in Congress have been outspoken in their support for a federal disaster relief package.
Five days after Cooper’s request, Biden sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them to pass a $100 billion disaster relief package. On Dec. 6, the president approved additional FEMA funding for North Carolina – an action which does not require congressional approval.
More specifically, Biden authorized the federal cost-share to be increased to 90% for public assistance, hazard mitigation and other needs after the first 180 days of the incident period. Previously, the major disaster declaration stipulated that FEMA would cover 100% of the costs for the first 180 days following the storm and 75% after that.
Since the costs for response and recovery are ongoing, no estimate exists for how much the federal cost-share adjustment is worth in terms of a dollar amount. Cooper praised Biden’s actions in a press release while maintaining that North Carolina is still in dire need of more federal funding.
“A complete recovery in Western North Carolina will require an investment of billions of dollars and agreement by the Biden-Harris Administration to cover more of the cost is a tremendous boost to our efforts,” Cooper’s release said.
“We will continue working to get more funding into Western North Carolina so we can rebuild our communities in stronger and more resilient ways.”
Federal relief tied to appropriations
Whether Congress passes a federal relief package before heading home for the holidays hinges on the fate of a stopgap spending bill that must be passed by Dec. 20 to prevent a government shutdown.
Congress, unable to pass a full budget for the 2025 fiscal year which started Oct. 1, passed a continuing resolution bill in September that renewed government funding at 2024 levels until Dec. 20. With that expiration date quickly approaching, Congress is set to punt once again and pass another continuing resolution sometime next week.
Disaster relief is likely to be a part of that new temporary appropriations bill, according to Michael Wallace, a legislative expert and lobbyist for the National League of Cities. NLC, which lobbies on behalf of more than 2,700 member cities across the United States, is one of a number of local government advocacy groups that urged Congress to pass an emergency disaster relief bill.
“There’s really no talk in Washington about anything that would stop this from happening,” Wallace said.
“It’s on a glide path, and we very much expect Congress to pass that emergency funding along with the (continuing resolution).”
What’s more uncertain is how big the disaster relief package will be, and how much of that money will be directed towards North Carolina. Thom Tillis, the senior Republican senator from North Carolina, has been one of the leading voices calling for disaster relief funding. Like Biden, he has publicly supported a bill allocating at least $100 billion in funding.
Adam Webb, a spokesperson for Tillis, confirmed that they expect a disaster aid package ”close to $100 billion” to be part of the continuing resolution, but did not go into detail about what will be included in it.
NC bill sets aside money, doesn’t spend it
Meanwhile, North Carolina’s legislature convened on Wednesday to override Cooper’s veto of a bill that shifts $227 million from the state’s rainy day fund to the Helene fund without appropriating it for immediate spending.
The bill was also controversial for taking away certain powers from Council of State positions that will soon be filled by Democrats, including taking appointment powers away from the governor and limiting the power of the attorney general to take a stance against the general assembly when state laws are challenged in court.
Tillis and junior Republican Senator Ted Budd met with a group of Republican members of the North Carolina General Assembly Wednesday morning ahead of the vote “to discuss efforts to provide immediate assistance to North Carolinians affected by Hurricane Helene’s devastation,” according to a press release.
Later that day, Tillis spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate to reiterate his support for a federal relief package and to encourage members of the General Assembly in Raleigh to override Cooper’s veto. He acknowledged the “legitimate disagreement about the scope and the role of the executive branch,” but downplayed its importance relative to the disaster relief money included in the bill.
“This is not the time to rethink whether or not we should be sending every signal we can to the people of North Carolina that help is on the way,” Tillis said on Thursday.
“I’m doing my part here in this chamber to make sure that our members stay focused on providing 100 billion dollars in relief before we get out of this Congress. I need my colleagues in Raleigh to vote to override that veto today.”
Three GOP holdouts who had originally voted against the bill fell back in line, allowing the override to pass along party lines.
In his original veto of the bill on Nov. 26th Cooper called the legislation a “sham” and said it violated the state Constitution. Late Thursday evening, Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the newly enacted law.
“It’s fundamental to our Constitution that the legislature can not both make the laws and then choose the leaders who enforce them,” Cooper said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.
The legal challenge from Cooper and Stein focused focused on a provision in the bill that involved appointments to Highway Patrol. The challenge does not appear to affect the relief provisions or separate controversial provisions regarding elections board appointments and conduct of elections.
CPP has asked Stein’s office whether any additional legal challenge is expected but did not receive a response prior to publication of this article. The ACLU has said it is considering a legal challenge to the elections provisions. However, there’s no indication that any potential legal challenge would affect the relief aspects of the bill.
Across three relief bills, the state legislature has approved a little less than $1 billion for relief efforts following Helene. That’s a far cry from the $3.9 billion that Cooper recommended the state invest in recovery. When or whether the state legislature will appropriate the $227 million recently put into their Helene fund given the recent lawsuit, or whether they will pass any more relief bills, all remain unclear.
Regardless, nothing is likely to happen before the new legislature is sworn in come January.
That means the yet-to-be-revealed federal disaster relief package may be the last funding effort North Carolina sees before the new year.
This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.