Lawmakers in Washington have quibbled over disaster spending in the wake of the largest hurricane ever to roll up the East Coast.
Yet there was never much doubt about one Sandy relief item — a historic estate styled like a French chateau and located more than 100 miles from the Jersey Shore.
Proposals put forward by the White House, Senate and House of Representatives all contained relief funds for the “ancestral” family estate of Gifford Pinchot, first chief of the U.S. Forest Service and twice-elected governor of Pennsylvania.
According to one U.S. Forest Service account “high winds took out more than 100 trees” and “one chimney cap blew off the mansion and caused some minor damage” at the national historic site in Milford, Pa.
Legislation approved by the Republican-controlled House included $4.4 million for Pinchot’s Grey Towers estate plus other national parks in New Hampshire and West Virginia.
The House resolution also provides $16 billion in community development funds that could potentially go to 47 states with declared disasters in 2011 and 2012, officials said.
Lawmakers in Bucks, Burlington and Montgomery counties all supported the recently passed emergency relief package. But watchdog groups warn that, without proper oversight, billions of dollars could be spent on items loosely tied to the hurricane.
An investigation by the Congressional Budget Office suggests most of the Senate’s $60 billion “emergency” package won’t be spent for two or more years. A little under $9 billion of the relief package could be used in the next 11 months, according to the CBO report.
“A lot of this money is going to go to things that aren’t Sandy related and it’s going to be up to the vigilance of the public to stop them,” said Steve Ellis, vice president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.
In some cases, federal agencies will be left to decide what actually gets funded because the legislation is vague making reference to expenses related to the “consequences of Hurricane Sandy,” Ellis noted.
For instance, the bill provides $5.4 billion for “transit systems affected by Hurricane Sandy,” $3 million for “oil spill research,” and $1.1 million for the National Cemetery Administration.
Money is set aside for a myriad of agencies including NASA and the Plum Island Animal Disease Center off the coast of Long Island and referenced in the movie “Silence of the Lambs.”
Washington will set aside $3.3 million for repairs to Plum Island, which lay in Sandy’s path.
Taxpayers for Common Sense said its analysis of the hurricane relief package also turned up $118 million for Amtrak’s Northeast corridor line and $2 billion for road projects nationwide. Disaster funding could go toward $10 million in FBI salaries and expenses, $2 million for repairs to Smithsonian roofs, and $1 million for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, according to the organization.
Another watchdog group, the nonpartisan Council for Citizens Against Government Waste said it spotted $135 million for new weather forecasting equipment and $50 million to plant trees in the relief package.
“Whether or not these unrelated spending initiatives are worthwhile, they should be subjected to the normal budget process, not included as part of a disaster relief bill,” said Tom Schatz, president of the council. “Instead of trying once again to overload a disaster bill with unrelated spending, Congress should focus on quickly delivering disaster relief to those individuals most in need.”
The $50 billion House package came by way of Kentucky Republican Harold Rogers and was originally valued at $17 billion. The bill had no co-sponsors. Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey then successfully introduced an amendment adding another $33.7 billion in aid. That bill also had no co-sponsors.
Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina tried to introduce measures to offset disaster spending with cuts to other programs. But that amendment was quickly shot down.
The package approved in December by Democrats in the Senate was valued at $60 billion and was also criticized by some watchdog groups. The Senate sought to provide $821 million to dredge federal navigation channels, and $1.3 million for repairs to the roof of an Army ammunition plant, according to Citizens for Common Sense. The bill also provided cash for fisheries in Alaska.
New Jersey Congressman Jon Runyan, R-3, said he worked to stop Sandy money from going to Alaskan fisheries with a series of actions on the House floor.
Under the wording of the original relief bill, it was possible that none of the money would go to New Jersey, Runyan said Friday. The congressman said he and others would be working to ensure that disaster relief money goes to those areas most in need.
“One thing people forget about is the role of Congress with oversight,” said Runyan. “We also have a governor of the state of New Jersey who’s not going to allow this money to be misspent.”
Runyan’s office posted on his YouTube page some videos in which he appears to be one of only a handful of lawmakers on the House floor.
“The national media had just kind of moved on from this whole thing,” Runyan said of the Sandy relief package. “When Hurricane Katrina happened it was continually out there. Out of sight, out of mind was something we really had to deal with after Sandy.”
New Jersey and New York estimate the storm caused more than $71 billion in damage.
Along the way, Congress, the Senate and the White House offered different amounts for different categories of disaster spending. All sought to provide millions to buy floodplain easements and other mitigation projects with the president seeking $150 million, the Senate budgeting $125 million, and the House bill to provide $180 million.
Gov. Chris Christie said Washington used the citizens of New Jersey “like pawns in a chessboard.”
The $50.1 billion House resolution for Hurricane Sandy relief was supported by most local lawmakers, including Congressmen Chris Smith and Runyan, representing Burlington and neighboring counties in New Jersey.
Bucks County Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, and Patrick Meehan, R-7, of Montgomery County, also voted in support of the resolution.
“I believe we need to be very careful about every dollar that our federal government spends as we are facing record deficits,” Meehan said. “While we continue our work to put our fiscal house in order, we cannot stand by while so many of our neighbors in New York and New Jersey – those areas hit the hardest – are still suffering. Many of them without homes, without jobs, and without any support.”
Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, D-13, of Montgomery County, also wasn’t completely happy with the legislation but supported it “as a whole,” her staff said.
“There are lot of families and communities in need and the congresswoman believes we should help the people affected,” said Tali Caiazza, Schwartz spokeswoman. Schwartz was unable to be in Washington for the vote, Caiazza said.
Fitzpatrick said he also voted to strike funds for Alaskan fisheries and some weather service equipment from the legislation. “The bill wasn’t perfect,” he said. “It’s not what I would have picked. However, I have a responsibility to protect and provide for my communities but also to provide for others in other parts of the country.”
The Bucks congressman said he was also still working to make sure that those towns in Pennsylvania which spent money in preparation for Hurricane Sandy are refunded by the government.
“Pennsylvania was in the direct path of the hurricane,” Fitzpatrick said. “We were told to get ready, go big and go fast, which means rescue squads, police departments and municipalities, began to prepare and had expenses,” he said.
Fitzpatrick said some first responders had contacted him during the late October storm, seeking assurances of federal money to cover expenses. “They didn’t have a lot of resources,” said Fitzpatrick, noting that, “this kind of thing could break them.”
Written by: James McGinnis
Original Publication URL: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/watchdogs-warn-billons-in-hurricane-aid-could-go-elsewhere/article_07afbdd3-a2bf-5d18-bb5c-5504e2d36a7a.html
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