The GOP-controlled North Carolina legislature passed a 131-page bill which included "additional appropriations for disaster recovery," in the title, but lawmakers from the state's hardest hit areas opposed the bill.
The measure, which stripped the Executive branch of several powers, passed the House 63-46 on Tuesday.
Three Western North Carolina Republicans in the House—Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood, Madison), Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) and Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon) —sided with Democrats in opposing the bill.
Pless questioned what the measure would do for the region.
“Well, I didn't see anything in there that really did a lot for Western North Carolina. I'm not sure why it had 'disaster' in the title, and even I asked that that be removed,” he told BPR on Wednesday afternoon.
He said he voted against the bill simply because it was rushed.
“I don't see it as whether we broke from the Republican party...we just decided that this is not good practice,” Pless said.
“I am not going to vote for something that when I get home and go to the grocery store at 9 am the next morning that if someone asks, I can't explain what I did and what the bill is going to do,” he said.
The bill included $227 million for Helene recovery but the money will be put into a fund that will remain inaccessible until it is appropriated at a future session.
Pless said the amount is not enough funding for recovery - and that the assessment of the damages and the cost is still not close to being done. Haywood County, which was hit hard by Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, was still recovering when Helene hit in September.
“So if it took us three or four months, with Tropical Storm Fred before we could really understand, why are we anticipating [that] we're going to know the size of this and the amount that's going to be necessary less than two months into it,” Pless said.
He said he doesn’t expect that the assessments will be done until spring 2025, but he can see avenues to fund specific programs, like agriculture, before then.
Western NC Democrats called the bill a power grab. The bill will strip power from the governor, attorney general and other Democrats who just won elections, WRAL reported.
NC House Rep. Lindsey Prather (D-Buncombe) said the Republican move is why people do not trust politicians.
"This bill is a power grab, that has been pushed through by a supermajority that is not happy with the recent election results," Prather said.
She said people in the region need funding right now.
"Small businesses need grants, not loans. This storm hit right before the most important month for businesses in Western North Carolina," Prather said. She also advocated for rent relief.
The NC Senate passed the bill along party lines late Wednesday afternoon. Four Republican senators from Western North Carolina voted for the bill while Buncombe County Democrat Julie Mayfield voted against it.
Seeking federal funding
Governor Roy Cooper is leading a delegation of state and local leaders to Washington, D.C. to present a request for $25.57 billion in federal aid to support the recovery process from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.
While in Washington, the Governor will meet with President Biden, Senator Thom Tillis, Senator Ted Budd, Congressman Chuck Edwards and other federal officials.
Pless said he does not think this is the right time to go to the federal government.
“I believe you get everything together and then you go ask for it. So I'm not sure it's a good look. I think he's rushing it partially because he's an officer right now and he wants to go out on a good note,” Pless said.
U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, and U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards led a bipartisan group of members of Congress in sending a letter to Biden this week, BPR reported.
On Monday, President Biden also sent a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives requesting additional funding for disaster relief.
“I urge the Congress to take immediate action, and I look forward to your partnership in delivering this critical relief to the American people,” Biden said in the letter.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hear from several government agencies about funding needs. Emergency aid could be attached to any spending bill designed to keep federal agencies operating after current funding expires Dec. 20.
BPR reported that in October, South Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz, (D-FL), filed a bill for $15 billion in supplemental appropriations for disaster relief from Congress. The bill has not moved from the House Committee on Appropriations since it was filed.
