General Assembly Poisons Disaster Recovery Efforts with Political Power Grabs

RALEIGH, N.C.-- The General Assembly returned for a special session this week with plans to pass a second round of Hurricane Helene recovery funding. The storm caused an estimated $53 billion in damage to Western North Carolina when it passed through the region in September.

Hurricane Helene created several 1,000-year flood events, triggered more than 1,400 landslides, damaged more than 6,000 miles of roads, destroyed more than 126,000 homes, and killed more than 100 people.

In the aftermath, Gov. Roy Cooper proposed$3.9 billion in state funding to aid in recovery efforts, but the General Assembly fell short by passing two disaster recovery bills totaling $1.1 billion. Further, the second disaster recovery bill, which passed this week, was eclipsed by more than 100 pages of changes to the State Board of Elections, eliminates two judicial seats, and would strip powers away from the state's newly elected Democratic Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General.

Following is a statement from Drew Ball, Southeastern Campaigns Director at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and an Asheville resident:

"Lawmakers' public words of support following Hurricane Helene ring especially hollow after this week's legislative session. The General Assembly underfunded critical recovery funding requests for western North Carolina and instead spent their time in Raleigh consolidating power. Their actions speak loudly and send a clear message that disaster recovery is not their top priority.

"These shady and selfish power grabs are a stark contrast to the selflessness that Western North Carolinians showed as we set aside politics to help each other get through one of the worst natural disasters in state history. Chipping away at our democracy and playing partisan politics with disaster relief is a new low."

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.