House sets Friday vote for Sandy aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is headed for a vote on aid for Superstorm Sandy victims after House Speaker John Boehner mollified Republicans from New York and New Jersey upset with his decision to cancel action on the bill.

Facing intense pressure, Boehner agreed Wednesday to schedule a vote Friday on $9 billion for the national flood insurance program and another vote Jan. 15 for a remaining $51 billion in the package, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. The new Congress is being sworn in Thursday.

King left a meeting with Boehner and other Republicans without the anger that had led him to rip into the speaker on the House floor, calling Boehner’s attitude “dismissive” and “cavalier.”

“It was a very positive meeting,” King said afterward.

King told NBC’s “Today” on Thursday that Boehner had ultimately come through for New York and New Jersey and said he expected Boehner to be reelected as speaker. King said he would vote for Boehner.

Boehner, R-Ohio, assured the lawmakers that the money from the two House votes would roughly equal the $60 billion package of aid that passed the Senate, King said.

Since the votes will be taken in the new Congress, the Senate also will have to approve the legislation. If the House, as expected, approves the $9 billion flood insurance proposal, the Senate plans to move quickly in hopes of approving the aid on a voice vote Friday. The flood insurance money will help pay for claims by home and business owners with coverage.

Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.

Boehner’s decision Tuesday night to cancel a vote on Sandy aid before Congress ended its current session provoked a firestorm of criticism from New York, New Jersey and adjacent states where the money will go.

According to King, Boehner explained that after the contentious vote to avoid major tax increases and spending cuts called the “fiscal cliff,” the House speaker didn’t think it was the right time to schedule the vote before the current Congress ended.

“What’s done is done,” King said. “The end result will be New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will receive the funding they deserve.”

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure last Friday to help with recovery from the October storm. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure for immediate recovery needs and a second amendment for $33 billion to meet longer-term needs.

The $9 billion in flood insurance money to be voted on Friday was originally in the $27 billion measure. The votes on Jan. 15 will be for $18 billion in immediate assistance and $33 billion for longer-term projects, including projects to protect against future storms, King said.

Much of the money in the proposals is for immediate help for victims and other recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Some $5.4 million is for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund; $5.4 billion is to help transit agencies in New York and New Jersey rebuild; and $3.9 billion is for the Housing and Urban Development Department’s development fund to repair hospitals, utilities and small businesses.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, was among those sharply criticizing Boehner before the speaker changed course, complaining about the “toxic internal politics” of the House majority.

King was part of an angry chorus of New York and New Jersey lawmakers from both parties who blasted Boehner, with some saying his move was a betrayal. He told Fox News on Wednesday: “These Republicans have no problem finding New York when they’re out raising millions of dollars. ... I’m saying, right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their minds,” he said.

In considering the Sandy aid package, the speaker was caught between conservative lawmakers who want to offset any increase in spending and Northeast and mid-Atlantic lawmakers determined to help their states.

More than $2 billion in federal money has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm. 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.

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

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Associated Press writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.

Comments

1) Comment by slye753 - 04/01/2013

how about schumer(dem) knocking down the repugs for not passing the Sandy bill. after schumer loaded it down with pork for everything but what the bill is intended for. of course the media didnot report that. what a shameful human being

2) Comment by Mygulfbleedsforu - 03/01/2013

I might be sorry I asked, but Tommy Rucker, would you please define what you mean by "mob"? Typically, mob rule is when legitimate authorities are intimidated by large throngs of unruly people to do their bidding -- you know, majority rule gone tyrannical. But members of the mob in "mob rule" are not typically referred to as mobsters. Mobsters, generally, are members of the Mafia or similar crime group. So ... are you saying our elected officials are kowtowing to a tyrannical populace, or are you saying the elected Congress acts like a crime syndicate, or do you have your own special definition of "mob"?

3) Comment by billynurse - 03/01/2013

****Comment Removed for Violation of Terms of Use****

4) Comment by billynurse - 03/01/2013

Crazycajun, were you referring to the increasingly progressive "moderate" republicans in congress? All parts of the federal gov'mt have slowly and steadily moved LEFT over ~ 50 years. That is why there is a misperception that concerned citizens in the Tea Party are "RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS!!" (omg! run for your lives!)

5) Comment by Isabella11 - 03/01/2013

I have an idea....... How about the government but out and let the insurance companies do their job, and Fema do theirs. Why does there always have to be a "bail-out"? EVERYONE IS ASKING FOR HANDOUT'S!! WHERE DOES IT END?

6) Comment by grimcity - 03/01/2013

We're not trolling, we're Louisiana!

7) Comment by TommyRucker - 03/01/2013

Even FEMA has stated they have enough money, etc. to handle the situation resulting from Sandy storm but we will see a knee jerk reaction in the way of the mob as you would think people are starving and dying in the northeast today because of the storm damage. This is a Broadway performance at its finest and needs to get a Tony award as these mobsters from the northeast are really good actors and loyal members of the mob. The republicans and democrats are all the same when it comes to getting their hands on other people's money-its the way of the MOB.

8) Comment by TommyRucker - 03/01/2013

We have such a weak congress that they are easily manipulated and intimidated and subject to extortion. They showed it when they pass the 'unread' Obama care bill and now they are doing the same thing with this Sandy storm aid bill, just as they did with this fiscal cliff bill. No sane private business, family or whatever would operate in such a manner. This is what happens when you have MOB RULE. It is all about RAW POWER and intimidation, etc. and US government is proving every day that it is under the control and direction of the mob and its principles. The truth hurts but it is what it is.

9) Comment by TommyRucker - 03/01/2013

Here we go again, rushing to make people 'feel better' and reacting to political and media pressure. Why don't they just do the right thing-help people as best we can and what we can afford to do and do it in an accurate and honest manner. Unfortunately they are going to rush this massive spending bill thru without really looking at it because the mobsters in the northeast are upset. This is a very very very expensive bill and needs to be looked at very very carefully as they apparently have not really supported this massive spending with TRUE facts but on desires of the states. Unfortunately 60 billion is not going to be enough and there will be more money wanted in the future as the northeast is bigger and better so they deserve more money from the rest of us. They got billions after 911 that they did not deserve as they are experts at extracting taxpayer money from the rest of us. Congress is so gutless, it is now be intimidated to vote for a bad bill because it has become popular and based on some sort of false sense of sympathy. These Sandy storm damages need to be accurately evaluated and assessed and ONLY damages due to the storm need to be helped with and only what we can afford TODAY. We might have been able to afford more in the past and possibly more in the future but today is today and these handouts and this legalized corruption needs to stop-we cannot afford it!!!!

10) Comment by Whatnow - 03/01/2013

Thank you caucajun, you saved me the trouble. "The expansion of the bill was a way to provide a financial incentive for senators from red states--"two Republicans senators from Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, and the one Republican senator from Louisiana"--to vote for the bill. "The Sandy kickbacks provide an incentive for those Republicans to vote on the bill," we wrote." - The Weekly Standard

11) Comment by agagent - 03/01/2013

"Here's the agency program amount (in millions of dollars), as outlined by Zients: Agency Program Amount Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations $ 150 Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Operations, Research, and Facilities $ 360 Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction $ 100 Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development, Community Development Fund $ 2,000 Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Management $ 400 Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program $ 5,500"--TWS

12) Comment by agagent - 03/01/2013

"In the bill to cover expenses related to the devastation from Hurricane Sandy, the Obama administration is requesting $13 billion to cover storms to be named later. "Mitigation Projects: In addition to the funds necessary for recovery and repair of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, the Administration estimates an additional $12,970 million [thousands of million] is necessary for mitigation projects to reduce the risk of damage from future disasters," writes Office of Managment and Budget director Jeffrey Zients in a letter to House speaker John Boehner. That's $12,970 thousands of million, so about $13 billion for "future disasters.""--The Weekly Standard

13) Comment by caucajun - 03/01/2013

As usual the AP is acting like the public relations arm of the democratic party. They don't mention all the pork in that bill. I will. Some of the pork in the Sandy bill: $4 million for the Kennedy Space Center $20 million for a nationwide "Water Resources Priorities Study". $188 million for new Amtrak lines (not repair, whole new lines). $100 million for the federal Head Start day care program. $41 million for eight military bases including Guantanamo Bay. $56.8 million for charting the debris from last year's Japanese tsunami. $5.3B to the Army Corps of Engineers (that's more than their annual budget). $150 million in funding for Alaskan fisheries. $8 million to buy cars and equipment for the Homeland Security and Justice departments $13 billion would go to “mitigation” projects to prepare for future storms $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.

14) Comment by agagent - 03/01/2013

Now the house gets to look at the senate aid package a couple of days after all the fiscal cliff hype. By one measure the Senate Hurricane Sandy aid package is about like the typical Democrat bill . . . packed with pork. The house will approve an aid package but let’s hope without all the wasteful earmarks, The senate voted the cliff deal without the CBO scoring so that shows they don‘t care what’s in a bill.

15) Comment by crazycajun - 03/01/2013

This bunch of lunatics that have hijacked the republican party, and the nation for that matter, continue to hang themselves. I guess the old adage "give them enough rope and they'll hang themselves " still rings true. Never in the over two hundred year history of this country have a handful of nut jobs had such a detrimental effect not only on their party but the nation too. The only difference between a fool and a wise man, is the wise man learns from his mistakes and moves on all the wiser. Guess what the fools do over and over.