North Carolina Lawmakers Demand Congress Pass Disaster Aid Before Leaving Town

By Adam Pack via Daily Caller News Foundation | December 19, 2024

Two Republican senators set on providing relief to their constituents struggling in the wake of a catastrophic hurricane are demanding that Congress pass disaster aid before leaving town for the Christmas recess.

North Carolina Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd are urging congressional leadership to pass disaster aid for communities devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton before lawmakers are slated to leave town at the end of the week for the Christmas holiday. They are also threatening to hold up efforts to pass stopgap funding if disaster aid is not included in a larger spending package or voted on as a standalone bill, according to statements the two senators gave to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday.

“The devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina is staggering and incomprehensible,” Tillis, who does not support the stopgap funding bill in its current form, wrote in a statement to the DCNF. “Entire communities have been upended, with businesses, homes, and essential infrastructure completely destroyed. Helene victims in desperate need of assistance and the communities that had their infrastructure literally washed away can’t afford to wait any longer to start the long-term recovery process.”

“The recovery needs to start now, which is why I agree with President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance that Congress needs to include disaster aid in a Continuing Resolution or pass it as a standalone bill immediately.”

Tillis has also promised to block any stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), if disaster relief is not incorporated in a spending package or aid for hurricane victims is not passed as a standalone bill, stating lawmakers “should be prepared to spend Christmas in the Capitol” if they try to leave town before passing disaster relief, in a post on X on Wednesday evening.

If Congressional leaders intend to leave DC before the holidays without passing disaster recovery, they should be prepared to spend Christmas in the Capitol. I’ll use every tool available to block a CR that fails Western North Carolina communities in need of long-term certainty.

Adam Pack is a contributor to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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