Tillis Urges Senate to Replenish Disaster Relief Fund to Help Western NC Recover

Oct 1 2025

Tillis Urges Senate to Replenish Disaster Relief Fund to Help Western NC Recover

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senator Thom Tillis delivered remarks on the Senate floor marking the one-year anniversary of Helene, highlighting how the government shutdown is hurting North Carolinians recovering from Helene and urging his Democratic colleagues to end the government shutdown so the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) can be replenished.

Senator Tillis has been warning about the dwindling funding levels of the DRF for months, introducing legislation in June that would replenish the fund with $25 billion to ensure adequate resources to respond to the hurricane season.

Senator Tillis on the Damage Left Behind By Helene:

"74,000 homes damaged or destroyed, 5000 miles of roads damaged or destroyed, including major portions of I-40, which are still only one lane in each direction for about a 20-mile stretch between North Carolina and Tennessee. I-26 was damaged. Blue Ridge Parkways just opened up. 848 bridges damaged and destroyed. 20,000 farms and 800,000 acres of timber damaged. 163 water systems were damaged, with Asheville not having drinkable water for almost two months after the storm. Mr. President, when I was in Western North Carolina, I heard someone say that the community I was in was back on its feet. But for every community back on its feet, there are still several communities that are on their knees or flat on their backs. In fact, there are some communities that we wonder whether or not they ever will come back."

Senator Tillis on the Importance of Replenishing the Disaster Relief Fund:

"According to the latest FEMA Disaster Relief Fund monthly report, the major disasters account balance right now is at $1.4 billion, that is dangerously low. Last month, FEMA approved $7.5 billion from the major disasters account. In 2024, there were 90 FEMA-declared major disasters, nearly double the 30-year average of 55 declarations per year. Already this year, and we're really ramping up in the hurricane season right now, we've had 40 major disaster declarations in 22 states. FEMA simply doesn't have the funding needed to respond to a major disaster. Ladies and gentlemen, we're at a shutdown posture right now. We have storms in the Atlantic and more storms forming off the coast of Africa, and we are not prepared for another major disaster, should it hit this weekend."

Senator Tillis on Ending the Government Shutdown and Helping Western NC Recover:

"The House passed a continuing resolution that we tried to vote on this week. It had $22.5 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. But that money is not here today, because we're in a shutdown posture. We're not funding any area of government, but we're especially hurting the Disaster Relief Fund and FEMA, and the only thing standing in our way is a simple vote to continue funding at levels that my Democratic colleagues have agreed to before. So, ladies and gentlemen, we don't have a C.R. that the President or that the majority leader has decorated with ornaments. We call it decorating some of these spending bills like a Christmas tree. This is a simple continuing resolution to spend at the level we were spending yesterday. There's nothing more to it. There's money in here to help with disaster relief, but there's nothing more. This shutdown is hurting people in North Carolina."

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