hurricane relief
More than $37 billion in disaster aid under scrutiny in congressional lame duck
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants Congress to approve more than $37 billion to help communities throughout the country recover from various natural disasters, including Hurricanes Ian, which battered Florida and the Southeast U.S. in late September, and Fiona, which hit Puerto Rico. The supplemental funding request comes on top of a $9 billion COVID-19 […]
Governor’s office must do much better on hurricane recovery
As most voters have shown they understand, Roy Cooper has been one of the best governors in modern North Carolina history. He’s a skilled lawyer, pragmatic politician, and a caring and committed progressive who believes in human rights and building a fairer and more equitable and sustainable society. He’s no saint – no one would ever expect such a thing – but in comparison to many of the cynical and on-the-make charlatans and hatemongers...
State must act ASAP to address facts uncovered in Policy Watch hurricane recovery investigation
In some ways, of course, there’s nothing new or terribly surprising when large bureaucracies – be they government agencies or big corporations – are revealed to be plagued by waste and malfeasance. Humans and their institutions being as they are, flawed and prone to human foibles like incompetence, greed, sloth, overpromising, and favoritism, such revelations have been a constant in the American experience since prior to the country’s founding.
U.S. House Dems propose $28.6B in disaster aid for recovery from hurricanes, wildfires, floods
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats unveiled a short-term spending measure on Tuesday that would keep the federal government operating through Dec. 3 and provide $28.6 billion for costs related to recent natural disasters. The bill was passed by the House on a party-line vote Tuesday night, 220-211. But it faces a battle in the evenly divided Senate, […]
Senate committee deals another blow to controversial environmental nonprofit
The Resource Institute, a politically connected nonprofit that received a questionable and unprecedented $5 million appropriation for hurricane recovery in last year’s budget, could lose part of its windfall, according to a bill that passed out of the Senate Rules Committee today.
Interactive map shows who needs legal help after Hurricane Florence
The North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission this week released new data that reveals the impact of Hurricane Florence on North Carolina and the vulnerable populations who may potentially need legal help during the recovery. The Commission developed an interactive story map with information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Center for Disease Control […]
Eastern North Carolina residents press for a just hurricane recovery
As lawmakers gathered Monday to approve funding for Hurricane Florence relief, residents and community leaders from Eastern North Carolina came together outside the General Assembly. They told their personal recovery stories and encouraged lawmakers to put recovery money – and their political power – where it’s most needed. The Just Florence Recovery Collective represents more […]
Lawmakers expected to approve nearly $800 million in hurricane relief
North Carolina state lawmakers are expected to speedily approve almost $800 million in hurricane relief this week, legislators announced over the weekend. The news follows Gov. Roy Cooper’s call last week for the state to open up its pocketbook and spend from its $2 billion “rainy-day fund” after Hurricane Florence battered the state last month. […]
Editorial: Act now, not later, to prepare for future hurricanes
Be sure to check out this morning’s editorial on WRAL.com — “To ease future storm disruptions, now in Flo’s aftermath is time to plan and act.” As the editorial rightfully points out with respect to the response to Hurricane Florence: “…there is no better time to start logging lessons learned, determining the major needs to […]
Cooper seeks ahead-of-time disaster declaration
Let’s fervently hope the Trump administration doesn’t pull any of the duplicitous backstabbing and racist incompetence that have become two of its key trademarks in the field of disaster recovery as North Carolinians and others respond to Hurricane Florence. Unfortunately, both seem easy to envision in the weeks and months ahead if past performance (think […]
The far right of the far right: NC GOP members of Congress hit new low
Wow. Just wow. Every time you think North Carolina’s conservative members of Congress have hit a new low, they plumb new depths. As Doug Clark of the Greensboro News & Record explains in “North Carolina against hurricane relief,” nine of North Carolina’s 10 GOP members of Congress voted “no” on a hurricane relief bill yesterday […]