County Commissioners Welcome Record Amount of Funds Passed by Democratic Congress — But Refuse to Acknowledge Source

The Transylvania Board of County Commissioners welcomed a record amount of funding for the county this month, which will address affordable housing, water and sewer infrastructure, the local opioid crisis response, and the construction of a new EMS base. The bulk of this funding came from the American Rescue Plan Act — a $1.9T economic stimulus bill passed by Democrats in Congress and signed into law by President Biden in March.

The American Rescue Plan is the most consequential piece of legislation for working families in Transylvania County in modern American history. Democrats are helping Transylvania County residents while every single Republican in Washington DC voted against: 

• $1,400 checks for families bearing the brunt of the pandemic crisis

• A national vaccination program to get shots into people’s arms  

• Aid for our small businesses struggling to keep their doors open  

• Funding to keep our educators on the payroll and to safely reopen our schools

In addition to helping working families, the American Rescue Plan provides $6.6 million in stimulus funding to Transylvania County; with $2.7 million for it being allocated for water and sewer projects in Rosman and Brevard. 

In the House, all but two Democrats voted for the bill while NO Republicans voted for it. In the Senate, all Democrats, along with the two Independent Senators who caucus with the Democrats, voted for the bill, while NO Republicans voted for it.

Commissioners remarked that the funding, much of which came from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, represents a unique opportunity for the county to usher in a new wave of positive change in the community unlike anything they’ve seen since the closing of local manufacturing plants.

”How can they say where the money came from while at the same time seeming to take credit for accepting it, as if it fell out of the sky,” questioned Transylvania County resident Deda Edney.