North Carolina's governor continued this week to call for Congress to provide for more money to help western North Carolina recover from last September's Helene.
The storm drenched the mountainous region with heavy rains, leading to historic flooding and hundreds of landslides. In total, North Carolina officials estimate that Helene caused nearly $60 billion in damages.
So far, the federal government has allocated about $5.24 billion to the state's recovery. That's not nearly enough, Gov. Josh Stein said at a press conference Tuesday.
"My concern is whether this Congress and this administration is going to do a supplemental disaster appropriation, because that's where we need real money. We've had good money, but we need real money to help western North Carolina get back on its feet quicker," Stein said.
In February, Stein requested an $11.6 billion relief package from Congress. Federal lawmakers have not taken action on that request so far.
Stein and North Carolina recovery officials have pointed out recently that the federal government has funded about 6% of the estimated damages from Helene. They say that lags well behind other large hurricanes, including 2016's Hurricane Matthew and 2018's Hurricane Florence, where the federal government funded 53% and 20% of the damage, respectively.
Stein also pointed to recovery funds for 2005's Hurricane Katrina, 2017's Hurricane Maria and 2012's Hurricane Sandy. In each case, the government provided funding totaling at least 73% of the estimated damages.
"What we're asking for is not unreasonable. What we want is for the federal government to care about western North Carolina as they cared about Louisiana, as they cared about Puerto Rico, as they cared about New Jersey," Stein said.
State lawmakers have said for months that they will need significant help from the federal government to help with western North Carolina's recovery. Memorably, N.C. Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, said last November that there isn't enough money in all of North Carolina's state government to fully fund Helene recovery and that only U.S. Congress can cover that bill.
If Congress fully funds Stein's existing $11.6 billion request, it will bring federal spending on the recovery to about $16.8 billion. That would cover 28.2% of North Carolina's estimated damage from Helene.
To that end, Stein indicated Tuesday that state officials will be working in the coming weeks to "refine" their request for Congressional aid to seek additional funds.
"Where we are lacking is a meaningful federal appropriation, and so we need Congress and we need the administration to do a supplemental disaster appropriation," Stein said.
Home repairs after Helene
Stein's remarks came days after North Carolina finished repairing its first Helene-damaged home, with the agency overseeing the repairs receiving thousands of applications.
Renew NC, the state's Helene home repair program, has received 2,074 applications. Another 941 applications are in progress, according to a public dashboard.
The state program is funded with $807 million that was part of a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery from the federal government.
It will prioritize homeowners who earn low-to-moderate incomes and live in areas that received heavy storm damage.
The deadline to apply for assistance with home repairs is December 31, 2025.
More state funding?
Stein also indicated that he plans to ask the General Assembly for more state money to help with Helene recovery.
To this point, the legislature has provided $2.9 billion for hurricane recovery, including about $2 billion in new appropriations, according to a quarterly financial report from the Governor's Recovery Office for western North Carolina.
That money has come in five bills since Helene hit last September, with two of those passing since Stein was sworn in as governor.
"What they funded has been positive," Stein said. "In my view, it just hasn't been enough. And that's a natural tension that exists between the executive and the legislature, and so we will continue to work through and prioritize what programs really make a big difference and how much to fund them."
