On December 17th, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee unveiled a 1,547-page continuing resolution and disaster recovery bill that included financial assistance to North Carolina and multiple other states devastated by disasters in 2024. Coupled with that, the bill also included a broad range of expenditures ranging from health care policy to salary increases for members of Congress. 

At first, the bill appeared to have momentum due to expressed support from certain leaders on the right and left. However, by the evening of December 18th, it had lost traction owing to strong resistance from some members of the GOP who rejected the grouping of disaster recovery funding with other unrelated policy issues. 

Disaster Recovery Funding Overview

Instead of allotting a specific amount to each state, the bill allocated $110 billion in disaster recovery assistance across numerous federal agencies, which would then determine how much money each state receives. The following are some of the more substantial designations from which North Carolina would have likely received funding:

  • Department of Agriculture (USDA) = $30.8 billion for losses in revenue, quality, or production of crops
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) = $29 billion to remove debris, repair infrastructure, and provide financial assistance to victims
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) = $12 billion to restore houses and provide mitigation to minimize future losses
  • Department of Transportation (DOT) = $8.1 billion to repair highways and bridges
  • Small Business Administration (SBA) = $2.2 billion to provide loans to small businesses that have suffered economic loss
  • Department of Commerce (DOC) = $1.5 billion to provide economic adjustment assistance to support redevelopment
  • Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) = $250 million to provide child care subsidies

Moving Forward

It has been nearly three months since Hurricane Helene devastated our state, and it is time for the federal government to act. Instead of grouping disaster recovery funds into a 1,547-page bill with unrelated policy issues, policymakers should produce a standalone disaster recovery bill. An independent piece of legislation exclusively for disaster recovery is more appropriate and politically viable.

UPDATE: Over the weekend, Congress approved and President Biden signed a continuing resolution bill to keep the federal government funded through March 14. The spending bill includes more than $100 billion for disaster relief, with North Carolina reportedly set to receive $9 billion to aid recovery from hurricane Helene.