WASHINGTON — The House was poised today to begin consideration of a multibillion-dollar disaster aid bill for victims of Superstorm Sandy.
New Jersey and New York lawmakers are pushing for a robust package that would total at least $51 billion, but its prospects were uncertain. Many conservative Republicans have complained the price tag is too high.
Northeast lawmakers, meanwhile, have complained their states have had to wait nearly three months for federal assistance.
They had pushed for an aid package before Congress adjourned at the end of year and were incensed when House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio pulled the bill from the calendar.
Today’s vote was promised after Gov. Chris Christie and others — both Republicans and Democrats — decried the delay.
The vote comes a day after the House unanimously (403-0) approved a package of reforms designed to streamline disaster aid programs in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
The Senate, which will reconvene Jan. 22, is expected to take up whatever legislation the House approves.
The Oct. 29 storm killed more than 100 people in 10 states — 41 in New York City alone — and wiped out entire communities in coastal New York and New Jersey. It also paralyzed mass transit systems and left tens of thousands of people homeless. Power was cut to more than 8 million homes.
Christie called Monday for lawmakers to approve the disaster aid. Such aid traditionally has won support from members whose districts weren’t directly affected.
“I don’t think what they want is a situation where Congress winds up having regions pitted against each other,” Christie said, suggesting that lawmakers who vote against the Sandy aid on today shouldn’t count on help from Northeast lawmakers if their own states experience a disaster.
“That’s never what disaster relief has been about,” he said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conveyed similar sentiments in his address to the state legislature last week, saying “Remember New York because New York will not forget, I promise you.”
The aid package up for consideration today consists of a $17 billion aid bill by Republican Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and an amendment by Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey that would add $34 billion.
The House earlier this month approved $9.7 billion to help pay flood insurance claims from the storm.
Passage of the measures up for consideration today could bring the total to around $60 billion.
Late last year, the Senate passed a $60.4 billion Sandy disaster bill that mirrored the request from the White House. That vote was nullified when the 112th Congress ended and the 113th Congress took office on Jan. 3.
The new disaster relief package could face substantial obstacles. More than 90 amendments had been filed by Friday, including some that would slash funding for Community Development Block Grant money designed to help Sandy victims.
It was unclear how many of the amendments would be allowed.
For New Jersey and New York, the $16 billion in grant money in Frelinghuysen’s bill is critical to rebuilding on a local level. Transit funding — $10.4 billion in Frelinghuysen’s bill — also is a necessity for the two states, home to 40 percent of the nation’s transit riders.
Watchdog groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense have criticized the aid package for including money for items that don’t appear Sandy-related, such as $2 million for roof repairs at Smithsonian buildings and $10 million for FBI salaries.
But Frelinghuysen said Monday that everything in his amendment is relevant to Sandy.
“It is fully transparent and quite honestly, I think it’s fully defensible,” he said.
Among the most controversial amendments is one from Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina that would completely offset the bill by cutting all discretionary federal programs, including defense, by 1.63 percent.
“I know how important the supplemental relief is to those affected by Hurricane Sandy, but I believe we can provide that relief while finding ways to pay for it rather than adding to the nation’s ballooning deficit,” Mulvaney said.
Congress historically has not offset disaster relief with spending cuts, and lawmakers from states hit by Sandy are outraged by proposals to do so now. The White House, in a statement Monday, urged the House to steer clear of requiring offsets.
“Given the emergency and one-time nature of this supplemental appropriation, and in keeping with the response to Hurricane Katrina, Deepwater Horizon, and other disasters, the administration believes that all funding in the bill should be designated as an emergency requirement and not be offset,” the statement said.
Christie on Monday also urged lawmakers to stay away from offsets.
“New Jersey does not expect anything more than what was done for Louisiana and Alabama and Mississippi in Katrina, what was done in Joplin, Mo., (after a tornado) what was done in floods in Iowa,” Christie said Monday. “We don’t expect anything more than that, but we will not accept anything less. If they want to make new rules about disasters, well, they picked the wrong state.”
Written by: Malia Rulon Herman, Gannet Washington Bureau
Original Publication URL: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130115/NEWS02/301150024/House-expected-to-vote-on-Sandy-aid-today?nclick_check=1
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