Governor Cooper 'disappointed' after Trump and Congress fail to deliver on hurricane relief
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has a released a letter written to President Donald Trump and congressional leaders in which he says he is "shocked and disappointed" by the lack of federal aid in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
Cooper said he has "learned that of the more than $900 million requested, North Carolina will receive just $6.1 million, less than 1% of the resources needed to help communities and families fix homes, repair businesses and recover from the historic flooding."
"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," said Cooper. "Matthew was a historic storm and we are still working every day to help families return home and rebuild their communities. 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."
Cooper's office also released a list of North Carolina's federal unmet requests:
-Housing Repairs: $166.6 million to help homeowners with repairs, $63.7 million to repair rental housing, and $15.2 million to repair public housing
-Housing Elevation: $434 million for buyout, elevation and reconstruction of 3,962 properties that flooded during Matthew and are at risk for future flooding
-Agriculture: $92.6 million to cover losses for farmers not covered by the USDA such as livestock, farm equipment, and feed
-Public Facilities: $43 million to repair public facilities and retrofit infrastructure like storm drains and sewer lines to prevent future damage
-Small Businesses: $39 million to help 691 small businesses
-Health: $37 million to support health and mental health services for storm survivors and to help with repairs to health care facilities, child care centers, and social services agencies
Responding to Governor Cooper, Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09), who represents Robeson, Cumberland, and Bladen counties, said he has been actively engaged with local leaders on Hurricane Matthew funding needs since October 2016.
"Currently, federal administrators are finalizing nearly $200 million in disaster relief funding for North Carolina. At the same time, I'm working quietly, behind-the-scenes, directly with Appropriations Chairman Frelinghuysen and Senator Tillis to secure additional funding available in current FY2017 appropriations, and we have already laid the groundwork for additional funding in FY2018.
"While my team and I have had extensive and ongoing contact with local officials regarding their needs, prior to late last week, my office had never heard from Governor Cooper on this topic. On the contrary, my Chief of Staff provided an in-person update to the Governor's office yesterday, where we learned how much already-appropriated money had not been finalized for processing.
"With support from House Appropriations and Senator Tillis, we had already begun scheduling a briefing from HUD to secure additional funding prior to Governor Cooper's letter.
