Cooper's Reckless Ultimatum Is Hurting North Carolina Families | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

Progress Suffers While Cooper Plays Political Games
    Raleigh, NC    Governor Roy Cooper continues to hold up progress on North Carolina's state budget - holding it hostage over liberal Medicaid expansion with no guarantee of continued federal dollars. North Carolina's liberal governor has gone the way of Washington - willing to put our state on the hook for billions of dollars in entitlement debt that the federal government can choose to no longer fund at the snap of its fingers. But the Governor is holding up real investment for real people and communities, having vetoed the state budget. Recovery and revitalization projects around the state remain on hold, hurting urban and rural residents alike. Fortunately, General Assembly leaders ushered through legislation to ensure that many federal funds are not blocked by Cooper's ultimatum.

    Perhaps the most impacted are residents of eastern North Carolina, having been hit by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Cooper, whose incompetent administration has only spent one percent of available federal hurricane relief funds, is refusing to allow state dollars to flow to projects like the Pender County Courthouse or Brunswick Community College. Residents in Fayetteville "suffered a great deal as a result of the hurricane and have yet to receive the relief that has been promised."

    You have heard news about the North Carolina prison system, which has received quite a bit of attention over the last few years as Republican legislators work to rectify pay discrepancies for guards. Instead of signing a budget to authorize a pay increase and bonus package, Cooper chose to authorize a $41,000 pay raise to the DPS Secretary instead of the guards. Despite almost three years at the helm, Cooper's DPS remains "in absolute chaos." Guards continue to work hard to put food on the table for their families while Cooper dines in a 30,000 sq. ft. mansion.

    Capital improvement projects at HBCU's like Elizabeth City State or NC Central are at a standstill. Teacher pay raises and increases in per pupil spending have been put on hold, even though Republican legislators passed these raises for teachers. Students in Roy Cooper's own home county of Nash are about to go back to school, but they are doing so without $17 million in funding that would come from the state budget. How many more kids and families are going to suffer because of Governor Cooper?

    "Hurricane relief funding, teacher and state employee raises, and a portfolio of statewide community enhancement projects are stuck in Governor Cooper's political spiderweb as he chooses to hold them hostage over one pet project," stated NCGOP spokesman Jeff Hauser. "Instead of doing the right thing for North Carolina and signing a responsible pro-growth budget, Cooper is choosing to tell the people that they don't matter; Only his re-election campaign does. It's time for Cooper to stop raising money off his ultimatum for re-election and sign this budget that benefits North Carolinians from Murphy to Manteo."

• Contact: Jeff Hauser
•     jeff.hauser@ncgop.org