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Stein appeals for $13½ billion in immediate Helene aid

Gov. Josh Stein appears at BRCC to call for $13½ billion in federal aid for Helene recovery.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 15, 2025

Gov. Josh Stein used a visit to Henderson County on Monday to make a public appeal for an additional $13½ billion in Hurricane Helene recovery money, saying homeowners and small businesses still desperately need help and cities, towns, counties and the state need reimbursement for money they have already spent on damage repair and recovery.

“So far, North Carolina has received or been awarded federal funding equivalent to about 9% of the total damage that Helene caused,” Stein said during an announcement at Blue Ridge Community College. “States that were similarly devastated following hurricanes Katrina, Maria or Sandy saw 70% of their damages covered by federal funding. The average is typically to do 40 and 50% of total damage in federal relief dollars. Today, I am making a new request of Congress for an additional $13½ billion in recovery assistance, and I'll be headed to Washington on Wednesday for meetings to further this request to our federal partners."

The occupants of the 74,000 homes that were damaged by Helene "need a safe place to anchor their lives and remain in their community," he said. "They need help rebuilding their homes."

He also called for $8 billion in community development block grant disaster recovery, $400 million from the Small Business Administration for forgivable loans, $2 billion in new FEMA funds and nearly $2 billion for highways and bridges — "not just to restore our roads to normal, but also to protect them against future damage and build them back stronger than before."

"These four areas — restoring homes, supporting small businesses, bolstering local governments and building roads that will last — make up the majority of the new $13.5 billion appropriation request of Congress," he said. "But that's not all we are seeking. We're still waiting on billions of dollars that Congress appropriated last December with the American Relief Act."

The amount approved but stuck in the bureaucracy totals $6 billion, he said, "“So in this budget request, I am once again calling on federal agencies to take action to allocate these funds and get them out the door to help the people of Western North Carolina."

Noting that the General Assembly has appropriated $2.2 billion in Helene relief funding — four times more than any previous disaster — state Sen. Kevin Corbin, co-chair of the Governor's Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery, said the state can't shoulder the enormous cost of recovery.

“I know that the legislature will continue to work together and work with Gov. Stein to keep recovery efforts moving forward," he said. "However, we do need the federal government to continue to partner with us in this effort. Folks, we're talking about $60 billion in damages. That's way more than the state can pay for," noting that the rellief cost is almost double the entire state budget of $34 billion.

“We need federal help because that 60 billion, folks, is not just a number. It's people getting a roof over their head, being able to put food on the table,” he said.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, the advisory committee's other co-chair, echoed the point that cities and counties can't bear the recovery burden on their own.

“Almost one year later, Asheville is open for business," she said. "But every investment, every dollar of support, will help us continue our journey of recovery and help us to rebuild an economy better than ever to not only host those who want to visit, but provide jobs and quality of life for those that live there. Recovery costs money — more money than any city or county in Western North Carolina can manage, even from a cash flow standpoint.”

Noting the many city and county officials attending Stein's announcement, Manheimer lamented "how much time it's taking out of our lives every day just to fight to be reimbursed for the funds that have already been allocated by Congress."

"We need to do other important recovery work rather than continuing to advocate for these vital reimbursements," she said. "I am grateful for the reimbursements that have come through, but the lag time makes it that much harder for us to do our jobs."

Stein's comments in front of the media and members of the Governor's Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery, which gathered after the funding request announcement for a meeting.

During that meeting, Matt Calabria, director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROWNC), said of the $59 billion the storm caused, $44 billion remains unfunded.

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