Gov. Josh Stein takes his appeal for more Western NC relief money to Capitol Hill

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein visited Capitol Hill Wednesday, meeting with federal officials to ask for additional funding for Helene relief.

“Everybody cares desperately about what happened in Western North Carolina,” Stein said in an exclusive interview with McClatchy at the Capitol. “I want to make sure I do everything we can to help folks get back on their feet. The fact is we need a lot more federal support for that to be successful.”

On Monday, the Democratic governor publicly announced his request for an additional $13.5 billion. He released a 52-page report he sent to President Donald Trump and North Carolina’s congressional delegation breaking down the state’s specific needs.

His request also includes a release by the federal government of $10 billion in funding already allocated, last December by Congress.

Now, on Wednesday, he was urging federal officials for help.

His meetings Wednesday included Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both Republicans, and most of the congressional delegation, made up of 10 Republicans and four Democrats. He also met with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and Deputy Director Dan Bishop, who represented an area around Charlotte in Congress for two and a half terms.

His trip to Washington comes just 10 days prior to the one-year anniversary of the remnants of Hurricane Helene tearing through Western North Carolina, bringing widespread flooding and destruction, causing at least 108 deaths and $60 billion in damages.

It also follows his weekend trip to Western North Carolina where he surveyed the damage and the rebuilding process — something he’s done repeatedly as governor.

Stein said in Asheville’s Biltmore Village, “There are a handful of businesses that are open, a handful more that are in repair and close to open, but there are a number which are just totally destroyed,” Stein said. “The River Arts District in Asheville, kind of a similar dynamic.”

Stein said in other communities like the Haywood County town of Clyde, “it’s amazing what people have been able to achieve.”

“I walked the whole downtown” in Clyde, Stein said, “walked in half a dozen businesses. You would not have known that the entire downtown was under 8 feet of water, except for the fact the floors were all new, the air conditioning was all new, the electricity was new, everything was freshly painted in that town. They worked so hard to come back.”

He said it’s the job of North Carolinians and their fellow Americans to go “have a blast, and spend a lot of money” in Western North Carolina, to help small businesses recover.

In the meantime, Stein is leveraging the resources he has available to him, and on Wednesday that meant Congress.

“We want to make sure North Carolina gets its fair share,” Stein said.

Stein said between what he is asking for now and what he requested before, the federal money he wants would cover 47% of the overall damages, and 40%-50% is typical. He said that share reached 70% for a number of storms, like Sandy, Katrina and Maria.

“I recognize that we are in a different fiscal environment than we used to be, and so I’m asking for what I think is fair and what is necessary to help make sure that towns can meet their payroll, that we can fix the infrastructure, the water and sewer systems, that our roads get repaired, that small businesses get a hand up through a very tough time, where revenues have declined, so that they don’t lose everything,” Stein said. “They poured their hearts into building their small business, but also all the jobs that come with those small businesses.”

Stein added that 74,000 homeowners had their properties damaged or destroyed.

“They need help getting those homes rebuilt, because only 3.9% had flood insurance,” Stein said. “Who imagined that flood insurance would even be necessary? If we want to put people in their homes; we want our small businesses to succeed; if we want our towns to continue to serve their people in critical fashion, we need the federal government’s help.”

Stein’s request includes:

—$8 billion in Community Development Block Grant money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to use for rebuilding homes and small businesses.

—Around $2 billion in Special Community Disaster Loans from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help local governments finance police and fire protection, revenue collection, hazard insurance, trash collection and public facilities maintenance.

—$2 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation for roads and critical infrastructure needs, including for I-40 where temporary repairs have been done.

Stein had yet to meet with Budd and Tillis when he spoke to McClatchy Wednesday afternoon. They were next on his agenda for the afternoon. Both have been supportive of getting Helene relief.

They were among senators who urged leadership to bring Congress back into session last fall to pass disaster relief after lawmakers went home early ahead of the storm so their travel plans wouldn’t be interrupted ahead of the 2024 election.

Last week, Budd blocked the nominations of Department of Homeland Security officials from a Senate confirmation vote until Secretary Kristi Noem agreed to release earmarked funding to North Carolina for relief.

Stein said he believed the conversations he was having Wednesday were going well.

“I believe they understand that without their help, the recovery will be much slower, and I think they’re gonna stand up and meet the moment,” Stein said.

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