"Shame on you."; House Republicans fail to vote on Sandy aid bill.

All of this is politics.

Republicans congressmen wanted to vote for this without having it attached to legislation they are otherwise against.

Peter King and Chris Christie are also playing politics to look good with their constituency.

There will be a Sandy Relief bill passed that is palatable to all house republicans.

Nothing to see here.

 

From the FEMA website.
http://www.fema.gov/about
[rquoter]The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. FEMA can trace its beginnings to the Congressional Act of 1803. (during the presidency of the writer of the Declaration of Independence and when most of the other founders were still alive, my comment) This act, generally considered the first piece of disaster legislation, provided assistance to a New Hampshire town following an extensive fire. In the century that followed, ad hoc legislation was passed more than 100 times in response to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.[/rquoter]

 

Of course, because that is the American way, and always has been. The nation has stepped up and come to the aid in the face of disasters. It wasn't about Democrats or Republicans or one region vs. another region.

It has always happened before that the nation has come together and given aid. That is until yesterday.

It's a shame that you and others are willing to turn your back on Americans in need. I find it sad that some people believe that it's a good thing for the Congress to have done.

This isn't a matter of politics as usual or the Democrats would have done the same thing. Because it's happened before and Democrats and Republicans have always come together and aided the Americans who were suffering.

 

Stupid facts always get in the way of simplistic arguments.

 

Was a similar bill of such scale passed after Hurricane Ike to help us out? Because I sure don't recall one. Nevermind that our death toll from Ike exceeded that of New Jersey's from Sandy. Standard immediate emergency funding aside, it appears Texas bucks up and gets things done while the Northeast whines for the government to take care of them. Emblematic of Katrina.

I'm not overlooking the fact that Texas uses federal dollars too, but I'm thankful to live in a state with an independent mindset, one that is not wholly reliant on the federal government like so many other states.

 

Some of the responses in this thread are exhibit A of why the Republican party is in shambles. Even when the criticism comes from politicians within their own party, they still refuse to accept it and one post even managed to somehow blame Obama. You guys are amazing.

 

You aren't seriously asking whether Texas requested and received Federal aid for Hurricane Ike? Seriously?

I suspect this number grew since 2009, but "In all, federal assistance to Texas for the Hurricane Ike recovery effort tops $2.4 billion."

http://www.fema.gov/news-release/fema-obligates-27-million-grants-hurricane-ike-debris-cleanup-and-protective-measures

Oh, and that "independent mindset" known as Rick Perry and Texas did their own share of "whining" in this state-issued press release: “Unless this is resolved soon, it will be Texans who will ultimately bear the brunt of the costs for recovery. Therefore, I also urge our Congressional delegation to make it clear to HUD that we will not stand for weeks and months of further delay,” Gov. Perry said.

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/13942/

The point of this isn't to criticize Perry and the state of Texas from requesting aid when it was/is clearly needed (though it does look odd based on Perry's so-called "independent mindset" and interest in seceding). But any questions about or criticisms of other states is blatantly hypocritical at best (and IMO obscenely wrong in every way).

 

The federal government really got started in disaster aid in 1927. Flood of all floods on the Mississipi. Whether or not you agree with that decision (predicated mainly on the inability of states to weather massive natural disasters alone), it's totally irresponsible and irrational to just "turn back the tide" out of the blue without some sort of timeframe for states to prepare/coordinate/etc. Commodore isn't just lacking empathy, he's being silly.

 

I am a bit confused about your question... do you mean initially, when republican Governor Christie praised Obama's response as being "outstanding"

http://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/264747-gov-christie-obama-response-to-hurricane-sandy-outstanding

Or most recently, when Obama criticized the House for not acting?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/01/02/obama-house-hurricane-sandy-aid/1804273/

 

help me out, who were the senators from Illinois and Delaware in 2005? trying to remember, but for some odd reason their names are missing below.

--

Coburn Amendment, on the floor
bykos
forDaily Kos


The Club for Growth blog is tracking the debate over the Coburn amendment that would cancel the Bridge to Nowhere and Don Young Way and use that $454 million for New Orleans reconstruction.
It's a pretty heated debate. Sen. Ted Stevens has threatened to resign if the amendment passes.

Honestly, there's no reason for any Democrat to vote against this amendment.

Another earlier Coburn amendment to revoke pork projects in Rhode Island, Washington State, and Nebraska, for a total of $1.5 million in savings, was rejected. Those voting for the Amendment:

George Allen (R-VA)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
John Ensign (R-NV)
Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Jim Talent (R-MO)

It's embarrassing that Feingold was the only Democrat voting for it. What a great way to show the country that Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility. Sheez...

Update: FYI, the reason senators would vote against these amendments is because if any of them pass, it puts every single pork project in their own states in danger. What Coburn has done is allowed a challenge to every single pork line item. As well as it should be. Let each project stand on its own.

Update: Roll call is over, and the amendment failed 15-82. This is becoming a gross failure by both parties and the institution of government.

Voting Yes:

Allard (R)
Allen (R)
Bayh (D)
Burr (R)
Coburn (R)
Conrad (D)
DeMint (R)
DeWine (R)
Feingold (D)
Graham (R)
Kyl (R)
Landrieu (D)
Sessions (R)
Sununu (R)
Vitter (R)

Update II: It was easier to keep tally of the meager few "yes" votes than write in the tons of senators which put the politics of personal pork above the national interest. A $223 million bridge serving 50 people was more important to these people than rebuilding storm-battered New Orleans.

Simply unconscionable. Those who voted against these amendments have zero credibility on issues of fiscal responsibility. Zero.

And by the way, Feingold is starting to look really good for '08.

 

This is ridiculous. It should not be the federal government's responsibility to pay to make things as they were prior to the disaster.

The federal government should provide money, equipment, and personnel to assist in immediate emergency needs. All further post-disaster recovery and reconstruction should be the responsibility of state & local governments, private industry, and gasp, the affected people themselves. I know personal accountability is an antiquated concept in this era of people dependent on government, but in the past, some people did dust themselves off and rebuild without looking for handouts.

 

It didn't used to be that way.

Wonder what changed?

 

So from the prior posts, New Orleans got $454mil in a stimulus/response package after Katrian, Hou got a 2.4bil package & New Jersey gets 60bil?

Can anyone verify the money for Ike & Katriana because $60 billion sounds like a lot compared to the other two storms.

 

No - you're just looking at some random bill basso posted to make an irrelevant point. Katrina resulted in over $100 billion in federal aid.

 

Dude, I've considered you one of the more rational Republicans in this forum. I admire your takes in the GARM. Why you are taking this position on this issue is baffling. It's beyond baffling. It paints you as an out and out extremist. I hope that's a suit you enjoy wearing, because it certainly fits you now.

 

This post is full of misinformation. Yes Texas received federal aid after Ike. They received tons of money. Neither New York nor New Jersey are wholly reliant on federal aid. In fact they give more to the Federal government than they receive every single year. Every year their taxes go out to others in this nation that aid, far more than they ever take in. Now after being hit by a huge natural disaster they need some of what they give every year back in aid.

It's what this nation does. They help fellow Americans in hard times. That has always been the way until a couple of days ago. I'm sorry that the American way and traditions are so distasteful to you.

 

Why have a nation if we do not support each other when crisis arise?