Source: WRAL
Last month, President Biden requested over $100 billion in emergency disaster aid to help Americans impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other natural disasters.
According to CNN, the aid request includes funding to help farmers who experienced crop or livestock losses, school lunch programs, road and bridge repair, water system upgrades, and a disaster loan program for small businesses, homeowners, and renters.
“From rebuilding homes and reopening critical infrastructure, such as schools and roads — to supporting the Nation’s farmers and ranchers and ensuring access to healthcare services — impacted communities await your response. There can be no delay,” President Biden wrote in a letter to the House Speaker.
“I urge the Congress to act quickly to pass a supplemental funding package to assist communities impacted by these hurricanes — and every other disaster since the Congress last passed a comprehensive disaster package in 2022 — so that the people, families, businesses, and communities affected have the support they need to respond, recover, and rebuild responsibly,” President Biden stated.
According to WRAL, states like North Carolina could receive millions in funding if the disaster aid request is approved.
On the state level, the Republican-led General Assembly has only approved $877 million in relief aid, equal to about 1.6% of the estimated total damage of $53 billion, WRAL reports.
In November, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper condemned Republican legislative leaders for voting to spend billions of dollars on private school tuition vouchers rather than on Helene aid, accusing them of prioritizing handouts to millionaires over relief aid to western NC communities.
In the past week, Gov. Cooper vetoed a bill that at face value gave funding to Hurricane relief. However, the bill was riddled with several unrelated provisions aimed at stripping power away from the governor, attorney general, and other offices Democrats won in this year’s election.
“This legislation is a sham,” Gov. Cooper wrote in a statement. “It does not send money to western North Carolina but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh.”
