WASHINGTON – North Carolina will receive approximately $125 million in additional Hurricane Matthew disaster assistance as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act.

Last November, Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) asked House Leadership to include additional Hurricane Matthew funding in legislation related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

“National attention has moved on from Hurricane Matthew, but families in Lumberton, Fayetteville, Elizabethtown, and other southeastern North Carolina communities still haven’t been able to move back home,” said Congressman Pittenger. “As Congress takes action on more recent disasters, I continue to remind House Leadership about remaining unmet needs in North Carolina.”

While final details depend on disaster recovery plans submitted by the state, North Carolina is expected to receive:

— $100 million via Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) “Community Development Block Grants” focused on buying out homes in flood zones and elevating homes above flood level.

— $25.5 million via the Federal Highway Administration for the repair or reconstruction of roads damaged by Hurricane Matthew.

Robeson, Cumberland and Bladen counties were among the North Carolina counties most impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Typically, federal funding formulas are weighted in favor of the most impacted counties.

Nearly 98,000 homes and 19,500 businesses were damaged by Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina. To date, Congressman Pittenger has helped secure over $1.4 billion in federal funding for recovery efforts. Much of that money is released to the State of North Carolina, which is then responsible for distributing it to affected counties and municipalities.

The Bipartisan Budget Act was approved by Congress on Feb. 9 and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

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