RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein submitted a new request to the federal government for $13.5 billion in additional relief for counties in the state hit last year by Hurricane Helene.
Stein’s new Sept. 15 request came just ahead of the one-year anniversary of when the storm devastated western counties last Sept. 24. The governor followed up by heading to Washington, D.C., on the anniversary of the storm to press his point.
Stein wants the funds previously granted by Congress in the American Relief Act of 2025 to flow more quickly to the state.
“Nearly a year has passed since Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina, and it’s been nearly nine months since Congress last appropriated money toward recovery,” Stein said in a press release. “Just like folks in the gulf states, the mid-Atlantic, and Puerto Rico, the people of western North Carolina deserve federal support after a major hurricane, and the time to act is now.
“Western North Carolinians are counting on the federal government for help to rebuild homes, support small businesses, and repair roads. I call on Congress to deliver for western North Carolina its fair share and appropriate an additional $13.5 billion in funding for Helene recovery.”
The total requests made by Stein to Congress come to $23 billion, which includes his new request for $13.5 billion. Stein said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has allocated or obligated $5.17 billion to the state.
Stein’s request includes $8 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to be used for rebuilding homes and businesses.
Other funding requests in Stein’s $13.5 billion ask include $2 billion from FEMA’s community disaster loans program to aid small towns with their finances, and $2 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation for road repairs and rebuilds.
On the same day Stein sent his request, FEMA disbursed $64 million for more than two dozen Hurricane Helene recovery projects, drawing praise from Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.).
“After Hurricane Helene hit, our local communities stepped up to deliver urgent clean-up and rebuilding efforts so that the people of Western North Carolina could return to some semblance of normalcy,” Budd said in a press release. “These projects incurred significant debts that the federal government pledged to reimburse them for, but for too many communities, funding has lagged.”
Budd had threatened to hold up nominees for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless the funds started moving more quickly. He also laid blame for the slow movement of FEMA funds on the fact that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem must sign off on items over $100,000.
“I am thankful for President (Donald) Trump’s strong support for Western North Carolina and personal interest in reducing the backlog of projects requiring reimbursement,” said Budd. “As new projects are completed and processed for approval, our work must continue. I will do everything I can to ensure communities in Western North Carolina expeditiously receive the funding they were promised.”
While federal relief money may be lagging, various state appropriations have made their way to the western counties impacted by the storm.
State Treasurer Brad Briner said in a press release that his office has “allocated nearly $150 million to communities in need in Western North Carolina” through the Cashflow Loan Program established to “help bridge the gap for communities who are waiting for federal dollars needed to help with rebuilding and cleanup efforts.”
“Day one of my administration, and even before that, I knew helping those communities devastated by Hurricane Helene needed to be a primary focus,” said Briner. “Through two separate appropriations, the General Assembly tasked my team with getting interest-free loans to local governments in need, and in the quickest way possible. Nine months later, we have distributed three rounds of loans, which are already being put to good use.”
A breakout list of the funds by county was included in Briner’s Sept. 16 press release.
More relief funding may be a topic as the General Assembly returned to Raleigh this week. Additionally, the legislature’s Governmental Operations Committee’s subcommittee on hurricane response and recovery was slated to meet Thursday at 9 a.m., however, the agenda has not yet been set for that meeting.
