S743 allocates additional funds to support recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, including $16.75 million for the NC Community College System, $65 million for the Department of Public Instruction, $71.4 million for the Department of Health and Human Services and many other programs totaling over $644 million in spending.
The North Carolina State House of Representatives passed S743 on October 24, 2024 by a vote of 108 to 0. We have assigned pluses to the nays because, as President Grover Cleveland stated in his 1887 veto message for the Texas Seed Bill, “I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering…. Though the people support the Government the, Government should not support the people.” Both that bill and S743 intended to secure government assistance for local disasters. However, it is not the government’s role to solve every problem; these issues should be addressed by the private sector, the generosity of our friends and neighbors, and the principles of individualism.