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Memo Pad

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House Approves $9.7 Billion In Hurricane Sandy Relief

January 4th, 2013 1:09 pm Henry Decker

The House of Representatives passed a bill approving over $9 billion in disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy victims Friday morning, despite the lingering opposition of some right-wing Republicans.

The bill, which allows FEMA to temporarily increase the National Flood Insurance program’s borrowing limit by $9.7 billion, falls far short of the $60.4 billion in aid requested by President Barack Obama and approved by the Senate. House Speaker John Boehner is expected to hold a vote on an additional $51 billion in aid measures on January 15, the 113th Congress’ first full day of business.

In addition to providing some much-needed relief for the storm’s victims, the vote is an attempt to save face for Boehner. After Boehner acted at the last second to pull a vote on a Senate-approved $60.4 billion aid package Tuesday night, both Democrats and Republicans alike publicly trashed his decision. New York representative Peter King urged New Yorkers to stop donating to the Republican Party, and New Jersey governor Chris Christie even threatened to campaign against Boehner in the Speaker’s 2014 re-election campaign.

Despite the heated backlash against Boehner for temporarily withholding the disaster relief funds, today’s measure did not pass with unanimous support… 67 congressmen — all Republicans — voted against the $9.7 billion in aid, and several right-wing groups spoke out in opposition to the bill. The Club for Growth issued a statement arguing that “Congress should not allow the federal government to be involved in the flood insurance industry in the first place, let alone expand the national flood insurance program’s authority.”

Similarly, the Grover Norquist-led Americans for Tax Reform urged Republicans to vote against the bill, which it claimed had too much “wasteful and unnecessary pork barrel spending.”

The right’s opposition to federal disaster relief is a new phenomenon; for example, it took only 10 days for a Republican Congress to approve over $60 billion in aid for the Gulf Coast states that were battered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Photo credit: AP/Alex Brandon



  • http://www.facebook.com/dominick.vila.1 Dominick Vila

    Not a moment too soon. People have been homeless and struggling to make ends meet for two months while our bozos in Washington bickered about things that could have been resolved in a couple of hours if they wanted and if they had focused on what was best for the people instead of their narrow political goals. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

    • stcroixcarp

      It is not islamic extremists that have infiltrated the government, but greed crazed capitalist extremists who worship money.

      • http://www.facebook.com/fern.woodfork Fern Woodfork

        Welcome To The New World Order Bought To You By Capitalism And Free Enterprise Gone Wrong!! :-(

        • http://www.facebook.com/fern.woodfork Fern Woodfork

          On Meet The Press Today Old Turtle Face Is Ready For Round Two With The Debt Ceiling!! :-( They Are Ready To Shut The Government Down Same As They Did In 2011!! When Asked What He Thought About Ashley Judd Running Against His No Good Ass He Just Act Like He Wasn’t Concerned Well He Better Be Cause We Are Really Getting Tried Of The GOP/Tea Party Trying To Destroy This Country Just To Make More MONEY!!! They Know There’s A Storm Coming For Them In 2014 And Beyond!! It’s Time For These Thugs To Get The Hell Out Of Office!!!

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/GGHNYPK4GNCRYZLXWVZ447WHJM Plznnn

      Yeah, like when Obama spent 2 hours at Sandy “before” the election, then left them there to dry, so he could have yet another Hawaiian vacation. Yeah, Obama is one of the people, spending us into debt upon debt, where he promised to cut our debt in half. The Sandy relief fund is loaded with pet pork, when BO promised he would eliminate all earmarks in his spending. Any increases in Spending need to be offset with Spending Cuts elsewhere, so we can decrease our debt, or is that just something you liberals are not concerned with, just leave it for our children.

      p.s. On a different topic, Liberals use the Sandy Hook murders to have more gun control, when the murders of American Adults & Children by Illegal “immigrants” is 4,380 annually with another 2,900 Children molested by Illegals. Meanwhile you want Amnesty for Millions of Illegals, plus the fact that 23 Million Americans are unemployed. See how ridiculous your reasoning is.

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/JMT6C3LHLJDD4RX4NB4KY5ICAE gargray

        Sorry you are wrong Congress is the only agency that can spend money, Obama can not delegate money unless congress approves. The Republicans House would only give the Sandy victoms 9.7 trillion in stead of the 60 trillion the Senate passed. I hope you are not envolved in a disaster. If guns make us safe we should be the safest nation in the world, we are not we kill more people withguns than any other nation. You came from immigrants, you say your who ever came from legal immigrants, The documentary of everyone entering this country was for records only, who the date from where, the ship and the time you entered. Sorry !you lost!

      • Anna Drake

        Please tell me why a civilian needs a gun with 60 rounds for???
        Do you think that a cop with a gun in school will prevent anything??. If somebody wants to go on killing mass of people all he have to do is shoot the door down with few rounds and before the cop gets off his fat butt and pull his wimpy gun he will be dead and so the others. Military weapons should not available to ANY civilian. Even deer hunters do not use machine gun for pit sake. My God you have a mentality typical of Republicon. Spin it ,spin it untill all believe it.
        Even 2nd amendment do not say that civilians MUST have machine gun or a 60 rounds clip. Muskets and bayonets available then, yes technology is killing us using the 2nd amendment that says you have a right to bear arms against tyrannical government, not children in schools, churches or movie theatres.
        Read it. US GOV> is not tyrannical – the people in the house are. Don’t like it – move to CHina – their economy is better, plenty of jobs for Americans corp in slave camps. Go and see for your self. I am in Import business and have been there many times – I do not IMPORT anything from there.
        By the way get use to it, Obama is your President like it or not, despite your party working hard and wasting all the billions of dollars on useless, uncompassionate, empty suit man, who doesn’t even manage his own money, but makes on your back. If this country is in trouble LOOK IN THE MIRROR – people like you, and yours are the problem not a solution. Please name one of the PORKS in the Sandy BIll – just ONE. Can you?? NO – U R spinning Faux News just like Clinton sign herself to a hospital so she don’t have to testify about Benghazi. Hmmm, you people raise stink about that but NONE of you spoke about the contractors who died in Iraq and Afghanistan FOR NOTHING not to mention the IRAQ WAR – FOR NOTHING except for Haliburton (CHENEY and BUSH and ther SAUDIS made a killing in money – OUR MONEY AND LIVES OF US Soldiers.
        They died for nothing, nothing nothing.

    • faxt42

      agree …as the group that his lady Michele Bachmann belongs to, keeps pointing finger and label to others, it is among them who practice un godly thing. It is her and her affiliation who just keep talking and blocking for the work that needed to be done….we, the people should be able to ask the President to have the bill in reducing the deficit by taking away the benefit from those politicians who do not do their job by using the american citizen measure.

      • Anna Drake

        People, you voted them in or to stay on a job. They don’t care about you or the country, they care about themselves and their donors of big bucks. You bought it their BS LIVE WITH IT. You did not use your God’s given common sense but let it the BS influence your vote, so you voted, you got it, LIVE WITH IT. Next time use you brain and THINK.

    • http://www.facebook.com/fern.woodfork Fern Woodfork

      You Got That Right My Friend!! This Is A Shameful Act Done On Their Own People, The American People!! The Fear Mongering GOP/Tea Party American Taliban Members Always Looking For The Boogie Man , When They Are The Boogie Man!! Let Them Just Keep On Trying To Screw The 98% Of The American People, They Will Soon Find Their Way Of The Dodos And The Whigs!! People Are Really Getting Sick Of These Thugs, Let’s Stay United And Help Them Put The Nails In Their Coffins Come 2014 And Beyond!!!

  • rpg1408

    What is with these people ? Disaster relief is one of the functions of government and in the past easily received bipartisan support. Those members of Congress opposed to it are so mired in their hatred of government and so out of touch with the reality of governing that they should be marginalized by their colleagues and put out to pasture by the voters.

    • latebloomingrandma

      They should not have run for office if they didn’t want to do the peoples’ business.

  • Jim Menzie

    67 Republicans that have no idea of what America first means. They are government and it is obvious they hate themselves.

  • pinojenes

    The Republicans are acting according to their conscience(PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF THE RICH AND INFLUENTIAL). They want to make all federal programs PRIVATE, (SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, DISASTER RELIEF[FEMA],FDA{Food and drug adm.],ETC. SO THAT THE PRIVATE COMPANIES WILL HAVE ALL OF THE PEOPLE BY THE THROATS AND AT THEIR MERCY. WITNESS HOW MUCH THEY HATE OBAMACARE!! There is a remedy for this dastardly Republican behaviour:VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE and send them back totheir ols jobs: SELLING USED CARS!! BYE

    • Annemb

      This is an excellent post. It’s very well articulated and clear.

      Blessings…

  • turtlewoman1039

    Not only is the republican party a certifiable freak show, they are beyond a doubt, the most vile group to have ‘infiltrated’ our government. Why are we worried about ‘foreign’ terrorists when we are PAYING our very own thugs to dismantle this country and its REAL values?

    • Reddiaperbaby

      Turtlewoman, you are brilliant…the truth about the spawn of Satan all rolled up in a neat little paragraph!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/HGC4BGWVYXV76PHZBPSPOOU5GA Independent1

    What’s really sad here is that Republicans, like Mitt Romney, are trying to turn the clock back about 80 years. Romney’s contention that FEMA should be abolished and disaster recovery left to the states, would simply undo what Hoover, a previous Republican, did back in the early 1930s; Hoover is the president who signed legislation creating a federal agency to coordinate the disaster relief claims from the states. From the time of signing the declaration of independence, the states tried handling their own disaster recovery, succeeding only in failing to do so time and time again; always having to resort to coming to the federal government for help. After about 150 years of the states demonstrating time and time again that they couldn’t handle disaster recovery on their own, Hoover finally decided to coordinate their efforts by creating a department that would pull together the requests from different states. The agency Hoover created was morphed over the years finally becoming FEMA which actually was the coordination of a number of agencies each of which tried to handle different types of disasters. So just like with virtually everything else, Republicans have no new ideas, they simply are trying to insist that America revert back to practices that have failed in the past. With disaster recovery, they’re attempting to throw away 150 years of experience; and if for 150 years no state could handle its own disaster relief, it’s pretty obvious that neither would any private enterprise be able to provide the nationwide disaster efforts that FEMA supports.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/RXXALFBHMHWRP7745QRPAQZ5FI Mobin

    ” it took only 10 days for a Republican Congress to approve over $60 billion in aid for the Gulf Coast states that were battered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005″

  • Fubom

    That’s right America, keep on voting for these right wing, American hating thugs. They are more than willing to spend hundreds of billions to rebuild the cities we destroyed in illegal, unnecessary wars, but nothing for Americans devastated by an unprecedented natural disaster that has taken everything from so many.

  • FredAppell

    $9 Billion dispersed over several states is offensive. I would like to know what the states that deal with hurricanes and tornadoes on a regular basis receive in federal aid. I’ll bet it is a lot more than $9 billion. The political crap that the GOP is pulling is disgusting, while they are meandering around, real people (tens of thousands) are suffering immensely right now.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/RGOUPZ3JYNMPBVOHLZRCRVRD6Q ivory69690

    what about all the home owner’s that have and pay for their Insurance for there house’s ? yes i belive sandy should have the same responce the GOV. gave to the south when thy needed help . but seems like the GOP dosent want to help the north thy feel too many DEMS there . it only should matter to them not the REP’S or THE DEMS its the people of the country that need the help .

  • FredAppell

    Independent1, it is the contention of today’s conservative movement that every Republican since Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose party have chipped away at the Constitution a little bit at a time. Republicans like Roosevelt and Hoover would never pass as true blue (sarcasm) Republicans today because the party has gone so far to the right.

  • emadis41

    $9.7 billion out of $60.4 billion is just a band aid, nothing to crow about! NY, NJ and CT give the Fed more than they take, yet the respectful Senators and Reps from the taker states refused to give these states the funds they urgently need.. What a Congress?

    • Dean311

      The RepubliCONS…a bunch of cheap bastards. They are the most UN Americans in our country…but just remember “What goes around, comes around!” I loved Chris Christie’s comments regarding John Boehner…I mean John Boner, on how he disgusts him! I second that!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EQ5LTH2XTZCVP7G4FGK6Z2YTJE ignore the facts

    The “right wing” consists of the rednecks mostly in the south who like the kind of people SC elects – a liar and a cheat, and who talks about running again. Of course, SC votes for Romney – you know the rich guy who DOES NOT relate to 99% of the southern folks in SC. The majority of these rednecks are POOR. Dumb, but poor.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N66JKFRHFLOEIUUAUTAJ2MJW3U Nina

    The Republicans simply did not want to help Sandy victims! The eastern states are BLUE states and the Repubs are still resentful their guy lost. I think it is absolutely shameful the Republicans are so bitter and resentful. I have no respect for most of the ones in the house. They need to change their attitudes and begin working for the good of the Country and its citizens!!

  • latebloomingrandma

    It would be a just reward if Mother Nature could take her revenge on Grover Norquist and drown his house like a bathtub. One day in session and the 113th Congress already has half the country pissed off. Meanwhile–the rest of the world’s developing countries are just movin’ on without us, shaking their collective heads over the great superpower’s Congressional antics. Remember how the Bush administration was upset that Iraq’s new democracy was taking too long to get their act together? Well, they never self governed before. We’ve been governing ourselves for 225 years and seem to be going backwards. We’re in no position to be a template of democracy for anyone if this current climate is the example.

  • msrita

    What cuts will people not in that area get? Next time add a sales tax of 2 cent to cover some of your cost. California paid and extra 3 cent tax for 15 year to upgrade our schools.

  • oldtack

    I am a Democrat and a moderate. This Country must move forward but at the same time this Government needs to rein in spending. There have been reports of a lot of “pork” attached to the 60.1 Billion package. If that be the case then I think the Bill should have been rejected until the pork is removed. I personally do not think there should be riders or “pork” in any Bill. This is a practice that has gotten completely out of hand. We should be pledged to cutting the budget and then we junk up an emergency appropriation Relief Bill with pet projects pork?
    There are ways to get backing and acceptance of State projects without resorting to “porking”.

    • http://www.facebook.com/fern.woodfork Fern Woodfork

      But That The Only Way This Do Nothing Congress Will Pass Any Bills That’s Needed Is To Put In In With Other Bills And It’s Shameful!! Otherwise NOTHING Would Get Done!!! :-(

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/LIOWPV3RG2BI6EUJVVKTE6KSQU Charles

    Congress finally did somthing.Took a while. After OBama the great Kick the republican congress ass. Won on taxing the rich.Took them a while after the shock.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/LIOWPV3RG2BI6EUJVVKTE6KSQU Charles

    Forgive them. Besause the dumb ass republicn congress .Does not know what they are doing.That why we have OBAMA the great. Doing there job for them

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/LIOWPV3RG2BI6EUJVVKTE6KSQU Charles

    Fuck the republian congress. Forgive for them. Because the dumb asses. Do not know what they are doing. OBAMA has to do the job for them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Myers/100001512942781 Jim Myers

    And yet, they have no problem providing WELFARE FOR THE WEALTHY, and EXCESSIVE TAX BREAKS for the SACRED COWS of the Right, GAS & OIL, THE INDUSTRIAL MILITARY COMPLEX, ETC.

    How in God’s name do they sleep at night?

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/X2KKGDYW2F5T5XUT6233KBNWSI robert

      Look at what the Republican/Tea Bags has done to the upper-class who actually voted for them. They by-passed making the wealthiest 1% pay their fair share of taxes to help America, and threw those making 400k under the bus. They covered their own butts, stopping the tax hike just where their wages, 250k, would kick in. “Everyone”, from the 1% to 99% should contribute fairly to pay down the debt and get our country moving. They should want to do it automatically. But the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. That trend needs to stop. We should finish cleaning the House in 2014.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/X2KKGDYW2F5T5XUT6233KBNWSI robert

    The Republican/Tea Bags has put New Jersey and New York on the lay-away plan. They’ll pay half now and the other half later. Don’t that remind you of Wimpy in Popeyes: I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. This is too reminescent of New Orleans after Katrina.

  • oldtack

    Here is a partial list of suspected Pork in the Hurricane Sandy Bill passed by yhe senate and rejected by the House.
    1. 2 Million for repair to roofs of the Smithsonian
    2. 8 Million for new cars for Homeland Security and other branches.
    3. 150 Million for fisheries in Alaska
    4. 13 Billion for preparation for future Storms
    5. 207 Million for VA Maintenance
    6. 41 Million for damage repair to 8 Military bases along the coast including “Gitmo” in Cuba
    7. 4 Million for repairs to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
    8. 3.3 Million for Plum Island Animal Disease Center
    9. 1.1 Million to repair National Cemeteries
    10. 58.5 Million for forest restoration on private land
    11. 197 Million for future protection -Coastal Eco. System impacted by Hurricane sandy
    12. 10.8 Billion for Public Transportation much of which is for future projects
    13. 17 Billion for Community Block Grants.

    There is much more.

    How much of this is related to the Sandy Disaster and how much is pure pork projects?

    What exactly did the two governors ask for in the way of aid?

    Needed -or-pork?

    Make your own decisions.