prev
next
Senate approves $60.4 billion Sandy aid bill
In this Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, damage caused by a fire in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York is shown. The fire department sent more than 190 firefighters to the blaze caused by superstorm Sandy. / AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
WASHINGTON The Senate on Friday approved a $60.4 billion emergency spending aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy that had been backed by Senate Democrats.
Democrats had to turn back Republican efforts to cut programs such as $150 million in fisheries aid that Republican lawmakers said was unrelated to the storm that hammered the East Coast late in October. The measure cleared the Senate on a 61-33 vote, with 12 Republicans supporting of the bill.
The bill faces uncertain prospects in the House, where GOP leaders appear reluctant to move quickly on a big spending bill in the final days of a lame duck session. Congress' attention is focused on talks over the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts.
Sandy was blamed for at least 120 deaths and battered coastline areas from North Carolina to Maine. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the hardest hit states and suffered high winds, flooding and storm surges. Sandy damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.
Senate Republicans failed on an amendment for a smaller package of about $24 billion in aid for Sandy, which was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.
House GOP leaders have not said how they plan to proceed. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky has said Congress should probably begin with a smaller aid package for immediate recovery needs and wait until more data can be collected about storm damage before approving additional money next year.
Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee and a leading House fiscal conservative, has criticized the Democratic bill as "packed with funding for unrelated items, such as commercial fisheries in American Samoa and roof repair of museums in Washington, D.C."
Superstorm Sandy: State-by-state snapshots
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged House leaders to "put this bill on the floor quickly and allow a vote." If the House balks, Schumer said, the Senate bill provides "very good groundwork" for seeking Sandy aid next year.
The measure includes $11.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief disaster relief fund and $17 billion for community development block grants, much of which would help homeowners repair or replace their homes. Another $11.7 billion would help repair New York City's subways and other mass transit damage and protect them from future storms. Some $9.7 billion would go toward the government's flood insurance program. The Army Corps of Engineers would receive $5.3 billion to mitigate flood future risks and rebuild damaged projects. Dozens of other smaller items were also included in the package.
Senate Republicans said much of the spending in the Democratic bill was for projects unrelated to Sandy, such as $150 million for fisheries disasters that could go to Alaska as well as Gulf Coast and New England states. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to strip the fisheries funding, but his amendment failed.
Cleaning up after Sandy
To court votes, Democrats last week broadened some of their bill's provisions to cover damage from Hurricane Isaac, which struck the Gulf Coast earlier this year. A provision was added to the $2.9 billion allotted to Army Corps of Engineers projects to reduce future flooding risks; the coverage area for that program will now include areas hit by Isaac in addition to Sandy. Democrats also shifted $400 million into a community development program for regions suffering disasters, beyond areas struck by Sandy.
A Coburn amendment to reduce the federal share of costs for the Army Corps of Engineer projects to reduce future flooding risks also failed.
Most of the money in the $60.4 billion bill — $47.4 billion — is for immediate help for victims and other recovery and rebuilding efforts. The aid is intended to help states rebuild public infrastructure like roads and tunnels, and help thousands of people displaced from their homes.
"It will actually put people to work in their own communities, rebuilding their own communities," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Coburn, two frequent critics of government spending, targeted what they called "questionable" spending in the Democratic bill, including $2 million for roof repairs at Smithsonian Institution museums and more than $58 million in subsidies for tree planting on private properties. A McCain amendment to strip the tree subsidies failed.
Sandy's devastation on Staten Island
Republicans also criticized $13 billion in the Democratic bill for projects to protect against future storms, including fortifying mass transit systems in the Northeast and protecting vulnerable seaside areas by building jetties against storm surges. Republicans said however worthy such projects may be, they are not urgently needed and should be considered by Congress in the usual appropriations process next year.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that only about $9 billion of the $60.4 billion proposed by Democrats would be spent over the next nine months. The Democratic bill included many large infrastructure projects that often require years to complete, but Republicans said the CBO estimate of such drawn-out spending undercuts the urgency of the Democrats' aid package.
More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia. FEMA's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, and officials have said that is enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.
Popular in Politics
- Romney condemns "breach of trust" in Washington 251 Comments
- Adviser on White House scandals: "Partisan fishing expeditions" won't distract Obama 121 Comments
- Officials on Benghazi: "We made mistakes, but without malice" 361 Comments
- Obama: Racism is no excuse for not excelling Play Video
- Where is the Benghazi cover-up Republicans promised? 422 Comments
- IRS targeting overlooked biggest soft money groups 72 Comments
- For GOP, scandals could be an electoral plus - or minus 356 Comments
- Republicans use IRS scandal to tar Obamacare
Most Popular
-
01
-
02
-
03
-
04
-
05
Most Shared
Most Discussed
Then keep it in our own pockets.
Gotta quit spending first tho.
When does it freaking stop.
BTW. I didnt support W when he was doing it either.
Aug 22, 2007 - The federal government has promised more than $116 billion in ... Even worse, less than 42 percent of the money set aside has even been spent, much less gotten ... covers damage from three 2005 hurricanes, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. ... Zones -- "GO Zones" -- across 91 parishes and counties in Alabama, ...
If the GOP Bush administration can spend that much on Katrina, surely the GOP congress can approve $60 billion for Hurricane Sandy, which was even a worse storm! And prices to replace things have gone up since 2007! I wonder how much "pork" was in that relief bill in 2007?
Protect the general welfare as it says in the Constitution, bah humbug! If you cause global climate change that spawns severe weather as was predicted and it causes $60 billion in damage then "Blame Yo'self" - Herman Cain, 2012
------------------------------------------------
then that's what the 'aid' package should be.
shame on those who are using the disaster to fund projects that have nothing to do with the storm in question.
Your post is nonsensical to begin with, but if you're trashing NY, it is one of the states that sends more money TO Washington than it gets back FROM Washington. You probably live in one of the "net recipient" states.
Further, any idiot who cares to examine the topics of natural disasters, and federal disaster designations and aid that has gone to those areas, NY rarely has a so-called natural disaster worth squat in terms of what it costs the federal government. On the other hand, look at the the receiving states with all sorts of natural disasters and the multiple billions upon billions of aid that flow to them - southern states, mid-western states, coastal states (this is one of the few times when proximity to the coast affects NY), Rocky Mountain states, west coast states - for every calamity known to man: hurricanes, tornados, floods, rock slides, mudslides, forest fires, and more. And of course, let's not overlook Alaska, which is about the biggest net gainer of all states.
On a political basis, citizens of red states typically scream loudest about wanting smaller government, less government, ad nauseum, yet red states are first in line for government handouts and take more from Washington than blue states. You sound like one of those hypocrites.
pay for all the children who need medicine and education and other worth while items that society needs . And some time in the future we will pay it back the good part it will spur growth and good for the econemy thank you