Short Session Begins
Today the North Carolina General Assembly passed its first major COVID-19 response bills – HB1043 and SB704, a $1.57 Billion relief package. There are a lot of people and small businesses hurting right now. These bills are designed to help as many people as possible. The process has been a model of bipartisan cooperation and I am glad to work across party lines to support this Relief Package.

Highlights of the Relief Package:
   
  • Broadband Connectivity: $9 million
 
  • Support for Education:
School Nutrition – $75 million
Summer Learning Programs – $70 million
K-12 Connectivity – $11 million
K-12 Devices for Students – $30 million
Misc. IT/Connectivity — $17 million
Exceptional Children Support — $15 million
Student Health – $10 million
Community Colleges – $25 million
UNC Flexibility Funding – $44.4 million
Assistance for Private Colleges – $20 million

  • Department of Health and Human Services
Testing, Tracing and Trends – $25 million
Enhanced Public Health Capacity – $20 million
Enhanced Behavioral Health – $20 million
Rural and Underserved Communities – $50 million
 
  • Food, Safety, Shelter, Foster and Child Care: $27.5 million
 
  • Financial Support for Assisted Living Facilities: $25 million

  • N.C. Medical School Research
UNC School of Public Health/NC Collaboratory: $29 million
Duke University Human Vaccine Institute: $15 million
ECU Brody School of Medicine: $15 million
Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine: $6 million

  • North Carolina Hospitals
Rural Hospitals: $65 million
Teaching Hospitals Relief Fund: $15 million
General Hospital Relief Fund: $15 million

  • Local Government
Coronavirus Relief Reserve: $300 million
Grants for communities: $50 million
Funding for Counties: $100 million

  • Providers and Emergency Responders
Enhanced PPE and Sanitation Supplies: $50 million
Association of Community Health Centers: $5 million
Prescriptions for Indigent and Uninsured: $1.5 million
Free and Charitable Clinics: $5 million

  • Small Business Assistance Loans: $125 million via Golden Leaf

  • State Government Operations: $85 million
 
  • Transportation Operations: $300 million

  • Tourism Industry Support: $5 million

While it isn't perfect or complete, it will do a lot of good. I will keep working on needed long-term fixes that we did not address today like Real Universal Broadband, Medicaid Expansion, improving Family Leave and strengthening our Unemployment System for laid-off workers. This was a good step forward, but we still have much more work to do.
COVID-19 Update - Where We Are Today
NC COVID-19 by the Numbers:
  • 10,923 Cases
  • 399 Deaths
  • 128,036 Tests
  • 587 Hospitalized
NC Unemployment Numbers:
  • 963,403 Claims Filed
  • 391,200 People Granted UI
  • $1.1 Billion in Payments Issued
Over the past two weeks, the total of virus cases has continued to increase, but the rate of increase has been reduced due to our successful social distancing, testing, isolating and other safety measures. While the trajectory of the case total has begun to level, we must still continue to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of those around us, especially our most vulnerable populations.
Reopening Planning
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North Carolina has been very effective in limiting transmission so far, but the risk continues. We are now evaluating how we can begin to relax our restrictions while still avoiding a spike in spread. If our data trends are favorable, perhaps the first of these phases could be implemented later this month. But that depends on our metrics.

Governor Cooper has recently unveiled a three-part Reopening Plan set to eventually take place over the coming months in three separate phases. These plans are currently in development and are subject to change based on circumstances and supporting data. A thoughtful Reopening Plan is critical to ensuring North Carolina's safety over the remaining course of the virus. These phases are all contingent on holding the virus at bay. Look into the entire plan here, or select the image below.
Useful Resources
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Broadband Solutions Needed
We have some of North Carolina's greatest needs.
The people of District 119 are greatly underserved. We've just added some emergency connectivity for schools and universities, but we desperately need a real plan for universal broadband in our state. We need every child to have connectivity for school, businesses for their customers, workers for their remote work and patients for telehealth. We need this so that all North Carolinians can be treated equitably and remain safe, effective and connected.

I am currently working collaboratively on broadband legislation for the Short Session to move us as far forward as possible, as soon as possible toward this goal.
Sponsorship of Medicaid Expansion
I have just co-sponsored HB 1040, which is our Short Session Medicaid Expansion Bill. During this time of crisis, we should strive to provide all North Carolinians with adequate healthcare and proper screenings. Expanding Medicaid would greatly increase the strength of North Carolina's Healthcare System to do just that.

All North Carolinians would benefit from expansion, especially the previously reported 500,000 uninsured and the additional 300,000 who are now uninsured due to the current unemployment crisis. Instead of wasting $4 billion dollars each year, North Carolina desperately needs this money to help our citizens and economy.

According to the Cone Foundation Health Report, below are some of the benefits HB1040 would bring to District 119 here in Haywood, Jackson and Swain:
  • 7,824 of our hard working uninsured would become insured with healthcare benefits
  • 394 new, well paying Healthcare Jobs would be created here locally to provide that care
  • $60.6 million in much needed new business activity in Haywood, Jackson and Swain to underpin our local economy
  • Over $1 million in local revenue within Haywood, Jackson and Swain helping our local governments meet their challenges

This proposal has no new taxes, but by covering our uninsured, expansion would reduce the cost of providing healthcare for everyone by eliminating the cost shifting to North Carolina's insured.
Joe Sam's Notes
As we are all coping with this serious medical and economic crisis, I first want to thank the US Congress, both the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate for sending us in North Carolina some $4 Billion in Federal Revenue Sharing Stimulus Relief to help North Carolina respond to the critical needs of our state during this Pandemic Crisis. That's $4 Billion New Dollars to the positive this year! Thank you.

I'll now mention the second $4 Billion of our Federal Dollars that we sent to Washington that they would very much like to send back to North Carolina: our Medicaid Expansion Dollars, $4 Billion this year and every year thereafter. That should be $4 Billion in Stimulus Relief plus $4 Billion in Medicaid Expansion meaning:

$4 Billion + $4 Billion = $8 Billion

But as long as this Republican Majority refuses to allow those Medicaid Expansion dollars, our Federal Tax Dollars, to come back to NC to help our citizens and economy, we are just losing that $4 billion. That means:

$4 Billion - $4 Billion = $0

That's the situation we're at, NET ZERO right now. "You give us $4 Billion in stimulus, we give you back $4 Billion in Medicaid Expansion," meaning we net zero. We should be ahead $8 Billion, but we actually have nothing to show.

North Carolina desperately needs this $8 Billion to help our citizens and economy cope and recover. My firm message is: lets pass HB1040 and Expand Medicaid Now! It's critical! Stop the waste!

In the meantime, if you or a loved one is concerned about your health, the numbers for each of District 119's Health Departments are listed below:

Haywood - (828) 452-6620
Jackson - (828) 586-8994
Swain - (828) 488-3198
Sincerely,
Please share this with your friends!

P.S. check out our legislative web page at www.joesamqueennc.com . You can find all of my previous newsletters and more!