Remarks by the Vice President Prior to a Briefing on Hurricane Helene in Charlotte, North Carolina

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Governor. And I thank you all, everyone here.

I've talked with many of you within, actually, hours and certainly days of Helene hitting this beautiful state. And I thank you all for the work you've been doing around the clock.

Administrator, you and I have talked many, many times, and your team on the ground, they're just doing extraordinary work. But the work that's happening here that is so positively impacting so many people is really an example of the best we can do when we bring resources together at the federal, state, and local level and tap into the kind of collegiality that produces results. And this is the work that you all have been doing.

For the folks who are local, I also know what this means for each of you as a leader — to be a leader at a time that your own homes, your families, your friends, people you know, your community has been directly hit.

For the folks that work in your various divisions and offices, I know that they've been showing up at a moment of need for others, even when their own families and their own homes have been directly impacted. I think that these moments of crisis bring out some of the best of who we can be and who we are.

I've been seeing and hearing the stories from here in North Carolina about strangers who are helping each other out, giving people assistance in every way that they need, including shelter, food, and friendship and fellowship. And — and so, I thank everyone for all the work that they've been doing — those who are in the room and those who are out there right now, working around the clock.

And I'm also here because I wanted to make an announcement that yesterday we added Mecklenburg County to the major disaster declaration. So, that means that we're going to be getting substantial resources in to help folks and, in particular, to help them now be able to apply for federal assistance for a range of things that will be including home repair; what folks need in terms of generators, or even just compensation for the generators that they've had to buy; the kind of shelter that they've had to seek, including hotels.

And federal assistance for these issues is, I know, extremely important, because a lot of folks don't save for these kinds of emergencies, and when they hit, it takes a real drain on their resources and ability to take care of themselves and their family.

But, again, I thank everybody here. I'm looking forward to our briefing.

And — and I will say that also we are looking forward to working with our congressional partners. And — and, Congresswoman, you've been a great leader to work with your colleagues, as you always do, so that we can get Congress to also issue the resources that FEMA will need to be an active and resourced federal partner with all of you on the ground at the state and local level.

And with that, let's start our briefing.