North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled their initial attempt this year to boost recovery funding for Hurricane Helene's historic flooding, proposing new spending that totals less than half of what new Democratic Gov.

Before leaving the governor's office, Roy Cooper stated in media interviews that Republican state legislators passed a bill that "actually took money away from western North Carolina." WFAE's Marshall Terry and WRAL's Paul Specht fact-check Cooper's claim.

Residents are slowly rebuilding the village of Chimney Rock, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. "There's hope coming back," said Shane Zoccole, one of the volunteers in the area.