New York area lawmakers lash House GOP leaders for inaction on Superstorm Sandy relief bill

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., left, joined by other New York area-lawmakers affected by Superstorm Sandy, express anger and disappointment after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for the storm's victims, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 2, 2013. / AP

WASHINGTON New York area-lawmakers in both parties erupted in anger late Tuesday night after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he was told by the office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio had decided to abandon a vote this session.

Cantor, who sets the House schedule, did not immediately comment. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland told reporters that just before Tuesday evening's vote on "fiscal cliff" legislation, Cantor told him that he was "99.9 percent confident that this bill would be on the floor, and that's what he wanted."

A spokesman for Boehner, Michael Steel said, "The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month."

A House Republican aide confirmed to CBS News producer Jill Jackson that the House would not take up the bill during this session.

In remarks on the House floor, King called the decision "absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We cannot just walk away from our responsibilities."

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure, and a vote had been expected before Congress' term ends Thursday at noon.

• Help still desperately needed 9 weeks after Sandy
• Senate approves $60.4B Sandy aid bill
• Watch: Strangers help Sandy victim in hour of need

29 Photos

Cleaning up after Sandy

29 Photos

Superstorm Sandy: State-by-state snapshots

More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm, one of the worst ever to hit the Northeast. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring, according to officials. The unspent FEMA money can only be used for emergency services, said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.

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. The storm 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.

"This is an absolute disgrace and the speaker should hang his head in shame," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

"I'm here tonight saying to myself for the first time that I'm not proud of the decision my team has made," said Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. "It is the wrong decision, and I' m going to be respectful and ask that the speaker reconsider his decision. Because it's not about politics, it's about human lives."

"I truly feel betrayed this evening," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

"We need to be there for all those in need now after Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said she didn't know whether a decision has been made and added, "We cannot leave here doing nothing. That would be a disgrace."

[WWIIWWII]

NY and NJ have known about this potential problem for 100 years and ignored it. Now they are wanting the country to bail them out. We will and we will continue to bail them out on 9/11 forever. It never ends.

[Type_Z]

Easy to find the pork added to the Sandy relief bill. Shame on whoever submitted the bill in the first place.

$8 million to buy cars and equipment for the Homeland Security and Justice departments. It also
includes a $150 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dole out to fisheries in Alaska and $2
million for the Smithsonian Institution to repair museum roofs in DC.

$13 billion for future "mitigation" projects to prepare for future storms.

$207 million for the VA Manhattan Medical Center; $41 million to fix up eight military bases along the storm's path, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; $3.3 million for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and $1.1 million to repair national cemeteries.

Budget watchdogs have dubbed the 94-page emergency-spending bill "Sandy Scam."

More:

$58.8 million for forest restoration on private land.
$197 million "to... protect coastal ecosystems and habitat impacted by Hurricane Sandy."
$10.78 billion for public transportation, most of which is allocated
to future construction and improvements, not disaster relief.
$17 billion for wasteful Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), a
program that has become notorious for its use as a backdoor earmark
program.


Don't think this bill should have been about the victims of Sandy? Why politicize or take the chance of it not passing.

[fiorec]

let's be fair here. I live in NYC and theres nothing more i would like to see than those most affected to receive federal disaster relief. But just a blank check for 60B the day after we failed to address the debt, a day after we see our taxes rise but watched those "representatives of the people" vote themselves a pay increase......and know that all 60B isn't needed, deserved or directed at the states where the damage occurred. Incredibly unconscionable of the Senate, and absolutely correct of the House to pass bits at a time, while looking at the numbers most carefully. cf

[1pheasant1]

Tell me what a "blank check for $60B" is?
Oxymoron, or just moron?

[hillzagain]

phezzy, you're the moron. It's common knowledge most of the bill passed by the senate isn't even schedule to be spent until after 2015. The GOP offered a smaller more expedient bill for spending right away that wasn't bursting at the seams with PORK and it was rejected by Democratic Senators.

Typical of most frothing liberals, you can't read 10 pt fonts and thus simply follow the headlines of a liberal press. That's the definition of a moron.

[sweetcakesmaria]

That 60 billion dollar Super Storm Sandy relief bill has already been passed by the Senate but we are asking way to much of House speaker Boehner to step up and do the right thing to help those storm victims who are desperately in need of aid. Boehner and his Republican Cronies in the House has demonstrated that they are in no hurry to do something to help these storm victims who through no fault of their own became victims to the devastation of Super Storm Sandy.

[khgmarine]

More than half of the 60 billion in this relief bill is PORK!What does a new roof on a Smithsonian building have to do with this relief? And there is more crape in the bill that has nothing to do with Sandy.

Like most libs, you never let the real facts get in the way. As Nancy P. said over the BO Health Care bill, We have to pass it to see whats in it!!!!!!! Lets' just pass every bill without reading it.

[hillzagain]

KHG, don't bother. Maria is just another of the blind Obama minions who can only read headlines. Anyone who knows anything about that bill knows it was just a Democrat marketing ploy and most of it was slated to be spent over 2 years from now. The average liberal can't read 10 pt font.

[stoltz61]

The only radicals in this country are the liberals and their media. Maybe Obama could have donated the money that it required to fly him back to his vacation to those in need. To him they are nothing but his votes to get another four years!

[catmomtx]

What the heck are you whining about? Now you are blaming President Obama for the faiures of the Republican leadership in Congress? That darned Obama sure is a powerful man!

[cubscout09]

As I recall, Obama was already in Hawaii to attend Senator Daniel Inouye's memorial service. As President pro tempore, Inouye was 3rd in line for Presidential Succession. And, a damn fine President he would have made. (Boy, what fun certain people would have had with his Honolulu birth certificate.)

[1pheasant1]

John Boehner will lose his position as the House Speaker over this.

[hillzagain]

He's going to lose his position because they didn't pass a massive spending bill, MOST of which wasn't going to be spent until after 2015?
MOST of which wasn't going to help a single person until after 2015?
MOST of which wasn't included in a much smaller spending bill
offered by Republicans and rejected by Democrats in the Senate?

That bill would have had a chance to pass the House, unlike the BS bill passed by the Democratic Senate.

Oh, that's right, you don't bother reading anything but headlines, do you?

[cubscout09]

Oh, no! Canor isn't going to make his power grab, is he? Ever lived in a bullet riddled building? I seem to remember that Cantor claimed that it was a personal attempt on his life when a spent and exhausted round struck his office window at an oblique angle and bounced off, chipping the glass. What a paranoid looney!

[cubscout09]

Last night, on the house floor, Gregory Meeks said something to the effect that this is not what Americans do to each other when a natural disaster strikes. Check the banner at the top of Rep. Meeks' webpage and you will notice that Taiwan has already pledged to give $1.3 million in Sandy relief.

http://meeks.house.gov/

Not only is this not what Americans do, this is not what human beings do.

[catmomtx]

What the heck are you talking about?

[cubscout09]

Representative Gregory Meeks' statement on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exfkO06vBSY

2:04

"This is the Peoples' House, Mr. Speaker. We are supposed to do the right thing for the People, the American People."

President Obama, Governor Cuomo, Governor Christie and the entire NY House delegation made similar statements.

[sjc_1]

People expect $60 billion in aid, but NO one wants to pay for it. 60 million people do not want to pay $1000 more in taxes this year to pay for it, so there we go. More debt then people wonder why...we have met the enemy it they are us.

[davidd5063]

Actually, the ONLY thing preventing the aid is Boner and Cantor actually holding a vote on the Senate passed bill - same story as the fiscal cliff - GOP House Leadership OBSTRUCTING Democracy and behaving like spoiling, whining, CHILDREN - much like their entitled, bigotted, self-serving, worthless supports.

[sjc_1]

Not "actually" at all, it needs to be paid for. LOTS of items are not paid for ever since the Republicans refused to renew Pay As You Go in 2003. That is when the deficits really started to increase during a Republican majority in both parts of Congress.

[Larnan5]

Compassionate republican conservatism in action. The hate driven tea party controls the GOP and these guys deplore the north east coast states. The grownups better take back the party or it will fade away.

[jnostromo]

Compassion? You see their form of compassion..They make Scrooge look like a saint....There was a time when Americans took care of our own...now we would rather take care of the third world...then again in the third world you don't have the high overhead you have in this country..

[catmomtx]

Now, people have fun calling people they know nothing about moochers, shiftless, lazy people who just want the government to take care of them. I'm curious about what they call the Republicans, the ones who are willing to vote against their own best interest who are receiving welfare benefits and other social services. I would bet you they would say they are "different".

[isabel36-2009]

Those 'Republicans' who agree with leaving these suffering US citizens behind should leave the country: This is NOT your country!

[davidd5063]

I disagree. We should behead them all in the courthouse squares across the country - best way to deal with treasonous terrorist.

[Type_Z]

Pork in the bill folks. Do any of you read above a third grade level? The bill presented wasn't just for hurricane victims. It included billions for other things in other states that had nothing to do with Sandy. Learn to read.