Raleigh, NC – In light of a critical new report of the Cooper Administration’s mishandling of the Hurricane Matthew recovery, House Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne) and Deputy House Majority Leader Brenden Jones (R-Columbus) today sent a letter to Speaker of the House Tim Moore asking him to re-authorize the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief to make sure relief is getting to those in need.

The report, which was released on May 20th by the NC General Assembly’s non-partisan Program Evaluation Division, highlights several examples of“missteps,” “delays” and “unnecessary spending” in the Cooper Administration’s response to Hurricane Matthew.

“We believe this is unacceptable and it is our duty as legislators to help bring accountability and oversight while also identifying opportunities to speed up the process and make sure it does not happen again,” the letter states.

The two lawmakers,who serve as co-chairs of the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief,specifically pointed to the report’s uncovering that the Cooper Administration only spent 1% of a $236.5 million federal grant two years after the storm made landfall. 

“The people of eastern and southeastern North Carolina deserve better. They cannot afford anymore delays and missteps. As representatives of districts that were severely impacted by both hurricanes, we are asking you to reestablish the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief to ensure relief finally gets to those who are in desperate need of help.”

To date, the NC General Assembly has appropriated more than $1 billion from its rainy day reserve for disaster recovery after the state was hit by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. 

The full letter can be found here and read below:

Speaker Moore,

In light of the recently released report from the Program Evaluation Division that uncovers“missteps,” “delays” and “unnecessary spending” in the Cooper Administration’s response to Hurricane Matthew, we are requesting that you re-authorize the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief so that we can continue monitoring he state’s recovery efforts and make sure relief is getting to those in need.

Remarkably, it is noted in the report that “more than two years since Hurricane Matthew made landfall, the state has spent only 1% of its total $236.5 million CDBG-DR award” provided by the federal government to help storm victims. By comparison,the report points out that South Carolina, which received these funds at the same time as North Carolina, had spent 22% of its grant money.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the North Carolina General Assembly passed multiple disaster relief packages that totaled nearly $400 million in state money to help storm victims recover. As the co-chairs of the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief, we also held numerous meetings and worked with the Cooper Administration to make sure we gave them all the tools they needed to ensure these resources were allocated in a timely and efficient manner. Unfortunately,they have failed to get the job done.

We believe this is unacceptable and it is our duty as legislators to help bring accountability and oversight while also identifying opportunities to speed up the process and make sure it does not happen again.

Nearly three years after Hurricane Matthew, far too many individuals, families and communities are still waiting for the help they were promised and deserve. Furthermore,following the historic devastation of Hurricane Florence just last year, it is critical that we make sure the administration does not make the same mistakes.

The people of eastern and southeastern North Carolina deserve better. They cannot afford anymore delays and missteps. As representatives of districts that were severely impacted by both hurricanes, we are asking you to reestablish the House Select Committee on Disaster Relief to ensure relief finally gets to those who are in desperate need of help.

We thank you for your continued support and leadership in helping make sure our fellow North Carolinians get the assistance they deserve.

Sincerely,

Rep. John Bell 

Rep. Brenden Jones

‍