Top lieutenants of Gov. Josh Stein’s administration overseeing Hurricane Helene recovery testify in front of state lawmakers on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
As Gov. Josh Stein’s top lieutenants for Hurricane Helene recovery sat before North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday, they recited a familiar line: federal aid money was arriving far slower than the state was able to work.
Days before the storm’s one-year anniversary, the officials told the General Assembly that applications submitted for a major grant program had been pending before FEMA for months. And although the state stood up its homebuilding program in record time, federal regulations and processes meant that the first full reconstructed home likely would not be complete until January.
Those projections led lawmakers from both parties toward the same line of questioning: is there any way to make all of this go faster?
“Should we really, in the state, be in the housing business?” asked Rep. Brenden Jones (R-Columbus). Rep. Zack Hawkins (D-Durham) wondered if “maybe the state will be better off being more invested in some of the state-funded solutions.” And Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) asked whether the state could effectively pre-empt reimbursement from the feds on a key grant program: “Is that the way it works? Or do they actually look at every (application)?”
“All we need from FEMA is their checkbook,” Sen. Tim Moffitt (R-Henderson) said.
The slow trickle of aid is familiar for major disaster recovery, a years-long process that takes billions of dollars. But the Trump administration’s operation of FEMA — requiring top-level sign-off on all spending and enforcing new layers of scrutiny on all aid — has slowed the flow of money even more to western North Carolina and frustrated state officials and lawmakers alike. North Carolina has received federal funds to cover 9% of total damages; Stein has requested funding to cover 48%.
Trump, as well as some Republican members of Congress, have on multiple occasions expressed a desire to move the bulk of disaster response operations and funding down to the state level. But for now, that responsibility remains with FEMA.
Money for Helene does continue to flow piecemeal. FEMA greenlit an additional $48 million for North Carolina on Monday, and $64.2 million the week prior. But Matt Calabria, who leads the governor’s western recovery office, said Wednesday that the state’s applications under a specific rebuilding grant program had been waiting for action by FEMA since February.
“That’s a good exemplar for the kinds of dynamics we’re running into right now,” Calabria said.
That chunk of money, called the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, is designed to fund projects to prevent future disasters: relocating developments on floodplains, installing levees and floodwalls and retrofitting older buildings. North Carolina could be eligible to receive up to $1.6 billion under the program, officials said Wednesday. Both local governments and property owners can apply for grants. But “no homes have been approved” for the program as of Wednesday, Calabria said.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the status of North Carolina’s hazard mitigation grant applications.
Jonathan Krebs, Stein’s advisor for western North Carolina, told lawmakers the state couldn’t go ahead with projects under the program and hope for reimbursement from FEMA later. The most likely result from that, he said, would be rejection — though he admitted that would be better than the current limbo.
Matt Calabria (left), who leads the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, and Jonathan Krebs, Gov. Josh Stein’s advisor for western North Carolina, testify for state lawmakers on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts on Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
“We would love for them to say no, because then we could move onto other solutions,” Krebs said. “Right now, they’re saying nothing.”
Meanwhile, the state continues to trudge toward rebuilding homes under Renew NC, the state’s homebuilding operation that will use around $800 million in federal dollars.
State officials have kick-started casework on applicants despite still waiting on that federal money, using $120 million provided by state lawmakers. Renew NC has completed repairs on one home, and four others are now in the “pre-construction” phase, according to a state dashboard.
Work on the first home to need full reconstruction is expected to start “fairly soon,” said Stephanie McGarrah, who leads the Department of Commerce division overseeing the program. She estimated that construction could be complete around January.
Jones, the House majority leader, had heard testimony earlier from Samaritan’s Purse — a Christian aid organization that has been rebuilding homes in western North Carolina separately from government programs. The group is currently building 30 mobile homes and 40 fully furnished homes in the region, vice president Luther Harrison said Wednesday. Jones wondered whether the state was better off leaning on groups like Harrison’s for a larger chunk of work.
North Carolina has received more than 3,000 applications to its Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program to help low- to moderate-income families who experienced significant storm damage.
“Do you think it would be wise for this body to start funding the outside groups … that can move way faster than state government?” Jones asked.
Those organizations fill valuable gaps on construction that “the federal government cannot fund,” Krebs responded. But many of the properties handled by non-government groups are often lower-cost ones; for more expensive projects, its a harder sell, he said.
“When that average value starts getting really high, I think that’s where state and federal solutions start having to step in,” Krebs said, referencing major bridges specifically.