A group of North Carolina mayors and other elected officials gathered Thursday at the White House to take part in an event focused on how to use recently passed federal funding in their communities.

What You Need To Know

  • A group of N.C. mayors and other elected officials gathered Thursday at the White House

  • They attended the White House Communities in Action Building a Better North Carolina event

  • The event focused on how elected officials can use federal funding from recently passed legislation in their communities

The forum, which the White House will eventually hold for all 50 states, included Democratic mayors from Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Wilmington and Durham.

“We’re entering into a phase of our administration when we can do more in terms of convening at the White House,” said Julie Rodriguez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. “It’s incredibly inspiring for us to get more proximate to the impact we’re having on Americans’ everyday lives.”

The attendees heard from a range of Biden administration officials including EPA Administrator Michael Regan and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu. They also heard from Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. 

N.C. attendees spoke with White House officials about how they can implement funding under recently signed legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

"We found out a lot about a lot of programs and funding that are available that I'm not quite sure we knew about,” said Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan.

One recent example of funding being used under the bipartisan infrastructure law is $100 million in federal grants to make improvements along Interstate 85 from Charlotte to the South Carolina line.

The N.C. Department of Transportation said the money will be used to widen a section of the road from six to eight lanes and create new connections for pedestrians and bicyclists. 

It will also be used for electric vehicle charging stations along the route and for the installation of broadband infrastructure. 

"This is a major step to bringing digital equity to our rural communities in North Carolina, which is a high priority for our state,” said NCDOT federal grants manager Gretchen Better.

The money comes form the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden late last year.

While the bill was bipartisan, many Republicans voted against it in 2021. Some argued the money wasn’t all going to infrastructure-related projects. Another complaint was the bill was too expensive.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.