{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2026-09-30-pt1-PgS5244", "2026-09-30", 119, 2, "172", "155", "HURRICANE HELENE", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S5244", "S5244", "[{\"name\": \"Ted Budd\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "172 Cong. Rec. S5244", "Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 155 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 155 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)]\n[Senate]\n[Page S5244]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                            HURRICANE HELENE\n\n  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, some storms pass. Others permanently change\nthe communities they pass through. For the North Carolinians who lived\nthrough Hurricane Helene, September 27, 2024, is not simply a date in\nthe past. It is a dividing line between life before the storm and\neverything that has come after.\n  This week marks the second anniversary of Hurricane Helene.\n  Only 2 years ago, this Category 4 storm grew to insurmountable levels\nin a matter of hours, dumping up to 30 inches of rain with winds up to\n106 miles per hour. The result: Family homes that stood for generations\nwere washed away, small businesses that had long served as pillars of\ntheir communities were shuttered, and roadways connecting towns and\nneighbors were torn apart. But most devastating of all was the loss of\n108 lives across Western North Carolina.\n  Like many North Carolinians across our State and many Americans\nacross the country, I remember watching the storm carve its path\nthrough the Blue Ridge Mountains on the news that fateful Friday\nmorning. As the storm picked up pace, I did everything I could to stay\nin constant contact with local municipal leaders on the ground to\ngather intel on the storm's growing severity and better gauge the\ndamage it would inevitably leave behind. But when phone lines suddenly\ndropped, we lost all communication with one-third of the State. And\nnothing could have prepared us for what would come after.\n  Just days after the storm broke, I surveyed the wreckage from the air\nwith North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. From above,\nthe damage done was horrifying: Rivers rushed where roads once were,\ntrees were collapsed onto buildings, cars were overturned, and homes\nwere caught in mudslides.\n  When it was finally safe to reach the ground, the destruction Helene\nleft behind was overwhelming. I will never forget touring an elementary\nschool classroom in Watauga County that has been flooded by several\nfeet of water during the storm. Walking over the debris and remnants of\nwhat once was a place of learning, growth, and opportunity for young\nchildren was chilling. That visit made one thing abundantly clear: The\nroad to recovery was about more than rebuilding what Helene destroyed.\nIt was about restoring our communities.\n  Overnight, Hurricane Helene left North Carolina with nearly $60\nbillion in damage and recovery costs, a price tag so large that it is\nhard to conceptualize. Now imagine that scale of destruction falling\nonto counties, small towns, and entities whose entire budgets are not\nmeasured in billions, but in millions, or less.\n  In the immediate aftermath of Helene, local governments had no choice\nbut to completely drain their cash reserves to clear debris, restore\nroads, repair water systems, and provide the basic infrastructure that\ntheir communities needed to survive.\n  But Helene's severe economic impact extends far beyond the\ncommunities directly hit by the storm because the 39 disaster-\ndesignated counties account for 45 percent of North Carolina's GDP.\nThat means western North Carolina's recovery is not just a regional\npriority; it is essential to our State's overall economic strength.\n  That is why my No. 1 priority in Washington over the past 2 years has\nbeen unlocking Federal aid for western North Carolina's recovery.\n  Over the past 2 years, I have made nearly 50 visits to Helene-\nimpacted communities, and my staff has made many more. My casework team\nhas worked on over 500 cases related to Hurricane Helene recovery, with\npositive outcomes leading to over $66 million in awards. My policy team\nhas worked diligently to ensure western North Carolina receives the\nFederal disaster funding it needs by securing its inclusion in Federal\ndisaster re supplemental legislation and ensuring the Disaster Relief\nFund has the resources needed to support a full recovery.\n  I have also worked closely with Federal Agencies to clear backlogs\nand get recovery funds flowing so projects can get off the ground and\noutstanding bills can be paid. In the past 2 years, Federal Agencies\nhave identified over $13 billion in Hurricane Helene-related awards,\ngrants, infrastructure commitments, and Federal loan assistance for\nNorth Carolina, significantly advancing recovery efforts.\n  Since September of 2024, FEMA has assisted over 161,000 households\nwith nearly $567 million in direct assistance. North Carolina was also\nawarded a $1.4 billion Community Development Block Grant from the\nDepartment of Housing and Urban Development to support recovery efforts\nand address housing needs.\n  Additionally, FEMA has removed roughly 15 million cubic yards of\ndebris from rights-of-way and waterways, restoring access and helping\ncommunities move forward with rebuilding.\n  In a region where tourism drives local economies, fully reopening the\nBlue Ridge Parkway by the end of the year is a major milestone on the\nroad to recovery. By the end of 2026, the National Park Service will\nhave repaired more than 55 landslides along the parkway's 200-mile\nstretch through North Carolina. Although work will continue to repair\nvisitor centers and historic and cultural landmarks in the coming\nyears, the parkway's complete reopening will undoubtedly allow western\nNorth Carolina to enter a new stage of much-needed economic recovery by\nwelcoming tourists back to the mountains.\n  When I think back to those first few days after Hurricane Helene, the\ndevastation will forever be scared into my memory. But what stands out\nmost is what emerged from that destruction: an extraordinary sense of\nunity. In every one of western North Carolina's 39 impacted counties,\nneighbors were helping neighbors. And that level of unity, in the face\nof severe adversity, is something I am enormously proud of.\n  I want to recognize and sincerely thank the faith-based and nonprofit\norganizations that were among the first to respond after Helene--and\nfor their continued efforts in helping families across western North\nCarolina rebuild.\n  To every family still grieving the loss of a loved one, know that you\nare not alone. We will never forget the lives Helene stole from us on\nSeptember 27, 2024.\n  Helene may have changed western North Carolina forever, but it will\nnot define our future. That belongs to the resilient people who call\nthe Blue Ridge Mountains home. As communities continue to rebuild,\nbusinesses reopen, and visitors return, western North Carolina will\ncontinue moving forward with the same strength and resilience that\ncarried us through the storm--because, if the last 2 years have taught\nus anything, it is this: No storm is stronger than a community\ndetermined to rebuild together.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2026-09-30-pt1-PgS5244"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.3960050016758032, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}