North Carolina - Trump administration denied 99% of relief fund for Hurricane Matthew aid

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Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday expressed his “shock and disappointment” in the small amount of federal disaster money the Trump administration and Congress have authorized in the latest round of funding for Hurricane Matthew recovery in North Carolina — less than 1 percent of what the state requested.

Cooper had hoped for more than $900 million in federal relief, an amount he said was a conservative request made in consultation with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., U.S. Reps. David Price, a Democrat from Chapel Hill and David Rouzer, a Republican from Johnston County, and others in the state’s congressional delegation. Just $6.1 million in federal money was approved.

The funding request was in addition to $1.4 billion in federal and state money the state has already received, Cooper said. The storm caused an estimated $4.8 billion in damage, Cooper has said.

Cooper expressed his dismay at the latest round in a letter sent to President Donald Trump, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Cooper also invited Trump to visit North Carolina to see storm damage firsthand. An official in the Trump administration didn’t immediately respond to an email request for comment Wednesday.

“Families across Eastern North Carolina need help to rebuild and recover, and it is an incredible failure by the Trump Administration and Congressional leaders to turn their backs,” Cooper said in a statement.

“North Carolinians affected by this storm cannot be ignored by the Trump Administration and Congressional leadership, and I will continue to work with our Congressional delegation to get North Carolina residents affected by the storm the help they deserve,” he said.

Taylor Holgate, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said Wednesday that hurricane recovery has been and should continue to be above partisan finger-pointing.

“The bipartisan North Carolina congressional delegation worked to secure more than $300 million in federal assistance for Hurricane Matthew and is committed to making sure the people of North Carolina have the resources they need for hurricane recovery,” Holgate said. “Sen. Burr encourages both Democrat and Republican leaders to work together to ensure that those suffering as a result of a natural disaster get the support they need.”

According to Cooper’s office, the federal money the state had hoped for would have been used for:

Housing repairs: $166 million for homeowners’ repairs, $63.7 million to repair rental housing, $15.2 million to repair public housing.
Housing elevation: $434 million to buy out property, and pay for elevation and reconstruction of nearly 4,000 properties that flooded during the storm and could flood again.
Agriculture: $92.6 million to cover losses the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn’t cover, such as livestock, equipment and feed.
Public facilities: $43 million to fix public facilities and retrofit storm drains and sewer lines to prevent damage.
Small business: $39 million to help close to 700 small businesses.
Health: $37 million to support health and mental health programs for storm survivors, and to help repair child-care centers and social services agencies.

Cooper’s letter calls on the Trump administration and legislative leaders to come up with additional money, either through an immediate supplemental spending bill or in the next appropriations process.

Hurricane Matthew struck in October 2016, dumping 8 to 12 inches of rain across much of eastern and central North Carolina. It caused an estimated $4.8 billion in damage while displacing thousands of families and damaging more than 98,000 houses and more than 19,000 businesses, the governor said.

According to Cooper, half of North Carolina’s 100 counties suffered some damage from Matthew.

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