Governor Cooper today submitted a request to North Carolina’s congressional delegation and senior congressional appropriations chairs for policy changes and an additional $6.3 billion in federal funding to help the state and communities recover from the devastation of Hurricane Florence.
This request would bring North Carolina’s full federal request to $8.8 billion, including Stafford Act and other federal dollars already appropriated. If appropriated, it would cover approximately 52% of the estimated $17 billion in damage caused by Hurricane Florence, an amount consistent with federal support to states for other major disasters since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The funding request follows November 14 meetings between Governor Cooper and members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation as well as other officials in Washington, DC to discuss recovery needs.
Read the request letter to the NC Congressional Delegation HERE and read the request letter to Congressional appropriators HERE.
“North Carolina has much work to do to build back stronger and smarter, and we are counting on North Carolina’s congressional delegation to help us get this done. I'm proud of the people of our state who are working together to overcome disasters like Hurricane Florence. Now it is our job to work together to rebuild our state and I appreciate the work of North Carolina’s U.S. Senators and Members of the House,” Governor Cooper said.
Gov. Cooper’s request identified long-term needs and detailed immediate priorities for emergency federal funds, including:
- Repairing highways and interstates in ways that are resilient and safe;
- Building more affordable homes in safe areas across North Carolina;
- Reviving businesses that lost workers, income and stock with forgivable loans to get people back to work;
- Significant flood risk management to prevent future storm damage;
- Expanding North Carolina’s Recovery and Resiliency Office to coordinate efficient state and federal financial assistance for housing, infrastructure and recovery;
- Helping farmers whose harvest-time crops were ruined and providing incentives for hog farms to move to higher ground and convert to better technology; and
- Ensuring medical help and mental health treatment get to those suffering the devastating after-effects of storm damage and uncertainty.
Gov. Cooper also requested legislative changes to streamline the process for administering CDBG-DR funds, ensuring that survivors of Hurricanes Matthew and Florence are treated equitably, and that funding reaches affected communities as quickly as possible.
Additionally, the Governor requested that Congress examine proposals to allow tax relief for families facing uncompensated losses and the potential for interest-free loans and tax-advantaged bonds for school districts facing repair costs from Hurricane Florence.