Democrats Reject Disaster Relief Bill For Suffering American Families
Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 7:04 PM
Democrats rejected disaster relief to thousands of suffering Americans today by voting down a $3.7 billion bill in the House.
Democrats were upset that the bill cut funding to one of their green projects.
Only 6 Democrats would support the bill to help suffering American families.
A car lies in a ditch in front of the Country Store a after being dragged by the Batavia Kill stream after Tropical Storm Irene flooded parts of the town, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011 in Windham, N.Y. Officials say more than a dozen towns in Vermont and at least three in New York are cut off, with roads and bridges washed out by flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Irene. In New York, the towns of Keene in the Adirondacks, and Windham and Phoenicia in the Catskills are effectively isolated by damage to roads and bridges. (AP/Mary Altaffer)
Of course, that isn’t how the Associated Press reported the on the vote today.
Here’s their report.
In a rebuke to GOP leaders, the House on Wednesday rejected a measure providing $3.7 billion for disaster relief as part of a bill to keep the government running through mid-November.
The surprise 230-195 defeat came at the hands of Democrats and tea party Republicans.
Democrats were opposed because the measure contains $1.5 billion in cuts to a government loan program to help car companies build fuel-efficient vehicles. For their part, many GOP conservatives felt the underlying bill permits spending at too high a rate.
The outcome sends House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his leadership team back to the drawing board as they seek to make sure the government doesn’t shut down at the end of next week. It also raises the possibility that the government’s main disaster relief program could run out of money early next week for victims of Hurricane Irene and other disasters.
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Published May 22, 2012 at 5:04 am - 25 Comments
Sasja commented:
Ya got a House bill number to go with this story? I’m glad it didn’t pass if it contained “greenie” money, and what else was in it? Just because they label a bill a “disaster relief bill” doesn’t automatically make it a good thing.
MrGoodWench commented:
Democrats were opposed because the measure contains $1.5 billion in cuts to a government loan program to help car companies build fuel-efficient vehicles.
++++++
A $ 3.7 Bil bill
which has $ 1.5 Bil of PORK in it.
Niiiiiiice
Gride commented:
Hellooooo
Sasja commented:
Should have posted that it was a good thing they removed the “greenie money” but, still need to see the whole bill before I draw any conclusions. As stated above, “what else was in it?” Will take a jaunt over to the House website to see if I can find the darn thing.
Obamas regulation destroy jobs commented:
I pray that we clean house of all Democrats and never forget what they have done!! We need to hire so many IGs and GAO to investigate all the back door dealings and put them all in jail! every last one of them! Did you see how they cut GAO’s budget buy 8%?? You can see they don’t like being invited.
Hobbitually conservative commented:
Gonna have to release all the drug offenders to make room for the corruptocrats in prisons.
enoughalready commented:
WSJ.com – Opinion: Leveraging a Hurricane dated Sept 2
Another company to look into.
Tells the whole story behind the Dems wanting money for another favorite company and this time Joe Biden’s involved. That’s why the Dems rejected the Disaster relief bill. Go read it.
Everything in the article tells you what the Dems are doing playing with the Fema fund.
vito1964 commented:
I pray that we clean house of all Republicans and never forget what they have done! We need to hire so many IG’s and GAO’s to investigate all the torture, illegal rendition, financial malfeasance, pay to play, voter rights violations, and naked bribery and put them all in jail! Every last one of them! Did you see how the Republican’s cut GAO’s Budget by 7.6 percent? You can see they don’t like being investigated.
There Dear, I fixed it for you. Use the Google and you might get your facts straight.
Concerned Constitutionalist commented:
The entire House should have voted it down.
Local relief of predictable disasters is not among the Article I Section VIII enumerated powers of Congress. Our founding fathers did not provide a mechanism for repetitive loss areas to routinely beggar thy neighbors.
These disasters are unfortunate and I feel for the families affected. The Constitution, however, does not have a compassion clause. If people choose to build in disaster-prone states then they need to pay for adequate insurance with their own funds, rather than building below sea level in a hurricane zone (New Orleans) then expecting a bailout of the inevitable.
Tyrconnell commented:
HR 2608 is the discrecionary spending CR until Nov 18th, it includes the :
Overseas Contingency Operations Funding: The bill would authorize the appropriation of $118.7 billion for “Overseas Contingency Operations” (OCO) to fund operations related to the global war on terrorism, including ongoing activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Funding for OCO is the same amount provided for FY 2012 by H.R. 2219, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2012. OCO funding would be designated as emergency and would not count against the discretionary spending caps contained in the Budget Control Act. Funding for OCO in the CR would represent a reduction of $39.1 billion from the $157.8 billion authorized for FY 2011.
Secret Service Investigations: The bill would extend the authority of the Secret Service to use funds to conduct undercover investigations.
Disaster Relief Funding: H.R. 2608 would provide $1 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Army Corps of Engineers for disaster relief efforts in FY 2011. Of these funds, $774 million would be designated for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) and $226 million would be obligated to the Army Corps for emergency expenses for repair of damage caused by storm and flood events occurring in 2011. These funds would be offset by transfer from an Energy Department Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. In addition, the bill would rescind an additional $500 million from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program for a total cut of $1.5 billion. In addition to funds provided for FY 2011, the bill would provide $2.65 billion for FEMA’s DRF in FY 2012. H.R. 2608 would requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide a full accounting of disaster relief funding requirements for FY 2012 no later than 15 days after the date of enactment of the legislation.
If it was to go a year, the total :
According to CBO, H.R. 2608 would provide $1.043 trillion in discretionary funding for government operations on an annualized basis. Funding under H.R. 2608 would expire on November 18, 2011.
Granny commented:
Luckily, up here in Vermont we don’t wait for the feds to get off their duffs to get things done. The folks up in Royalton cut their own on-ramp to the Interstate so they could get out of town, the National Guard has been airlifting groceries and water into the isolated, every caterpiller and tractor and piece of earth moving equipment in the state is hard at work and the citizenry has been out gathering up the stuff to be carted away and taking chain saws to the downed wood. Luckily, lots of folks heat with wood up here. We were out today checking things out up in the Stowe-Waterbury area and the touristing is fine. Come on up – we’re open for business and the foliage is going to be stunning!
AcadieAnne commented:
Ya, those dummies that founded New Orleans on the 1700′s and all those people who have been born there since are really morons that got what was coming to them!!!!11!one
Seriously, if we were to abandon every historical city that got an occasional bout of bad weather, we wouldn’t have many left. Btw, if you actually bothered to look into it, you might notice that New Orleans’ biggest problem was the Dem establishment government that never really inspected the levees; they took the money and ran, as their party always does. Less ignorance about NOLA and more oversight of the corrupt Dems, please.
retire05 commented:
Granny, in Vermont, they ain’t seen nothing.
Bastrop County, Texas wild fires burned almost 40,000 acres, are almost 70 square miles. 1,557 homes have been not just damaged, but leveled. Not even the chimneys are standing. 6,000 people are displaced, living in shelters, hotels and motels, because they have no home to go to.
But Texans are helping Texans have made sure that we don’t need the feds which were abolutely useless during the fires. All they did was come in and try to push our fire fighters around.
Concerned Constitutionalist commented:
@AcadieAnne
Nowhere in Article I, Section VIII does it say that the federal government may spread the wealth through what amounts to the socialization of disaster insurance.
What is so wrong about people paying for private insurance whose premiums are commensurate with the risk?
Why should people from Iowa have to pay for Gulf hurricanes?
If we’re willing to accept socialism and shred the Constitution over some partisan, feel-good sound bites then the Republic is truly lost.
It isn’t Uncle Sugar’s job to bail out people who live in areas with high weather or environmental risk. Should people from the heartland pay for earthquake insurance in the People’s Republic of California?
AIG and Fannie Mae sold toxic securities because they knew a bailout would be coming if anything bad happened.
Similarly, people in high risk areas don’t buy insurance because they know big government will bail them out, not because the Constitution requires it to, but rather, because politicians like to pander with sound bites about “helping families.”
If you think the federal government is responsible for bailing out everyone who (a) lives below sea level, and (b) doesn’t buy insurance on their own, then please cite the authority in the Constitution for doing so.
If people want to live in New Orleans then they need to pay the cost of doing so. New Orleans is not an Iowa problem, not now, and was never in the vision of the founders.
Finncrisp commented:
Sounds like the perfect storm. Barry needs to grow up, stop the Hi Mom stuff, and get out of our way. OBAMA ISN’T WORKING.
America deserves better, and he will never be that man.
AcadieAnne commented:
@#14
I have no idea where I mentioned the Feds in my post. I stated that the local Dem goverenment really dropped the ball by ignoring the levees for decades. In case you forgot to look into the facts, people were insured, and companies (such as Allstate) denied the claims. No where did I state that the Feds owed NOLA a dime, just that they allowed the Dems to screw the area over. People that blame New Orleans for existing make me sick.
AcadieAnne commented:
Err, I have to add to the statement “No where did I state that the Feds owed NOLA a dime, just that they allowed the Dems to screw the area over” by not keeping any track of the money they sent, no matter how misguided they were for sending it. I did not mean to imply that it is up to the Feds to police states; no sensible person has that view.
StrangernFiction commented:
Kudos to the Republicans that voted against this!
Sasja commented:
If we would stop sending our money to Washington, only to have it doled out as the pols see fit, most states would not have a problem taking care of their own. I’m glad this bill did not pass. The federal government has no business in disaster relief. All we have managed to do with FEMA and the like is create bloated, inefficient federal bureaucracies. They need to go, starting with Homeland Security.
bg commented:
++
how much did NYC get?? /s/
oh yeah, like i trust the AP..
==
Iconoclast commented:
Hey, Susie –
Please examine the photo of your putz of a boss waving to the camera, then review your assessment of his diplomatic initiatives. The UN is only slightly more useful than the contents of a used litter box, but it still isn’t the editorial offices of Mad Magazine. Comrade Zero is a better fit with latter two than the first.
Texas Hypocrite commented:
@retire05 commented:
“But Texans are helping Texans have made sure that we don’t need the feds which were abolutely useless during the fires. All they did was come in and try to push our fire fighters around.”
In 2006, the top 3 states receiving farm subsidies were Texas (10.4%), Iowa (9.0%), and Illinois (7.6%). The amount for Texas is close to $1.4 Billion.
So where are farm subsidies clause in the Constitution?
Oh and that Drought Aid that is being sent to Texas, sounds like you don’t need that either.
MikeO commented:
Wrong on this one; it WAS the Tea Party GOP who stopped this an RIGHTFULLY SO. Remember, the GOP has the numbers to get what they want. here is the key passage:
“The underlying stopgap measure was opposed by conservative Republicans unhappy with the spending rates set by the measure, which are line with levels set by last month’s budget and debt pact with President Barack Obama. That measure provides about 2 percent more money for Cabinet agency budgets than Republicans proposed when passing a nonbinding budget plan in April. More than 50 Republicans recently wrote to Boehner calling on him to stick to the earlier GOP budget.”
The GOP leadership keeps backing off its fiscal promises to its own members; they deserve to be embarrassed by this.
JDF commented:
“The leadership of the Democrat and Republican Parties has ordered every member of Congress to lie to the American people.
Barack Obama was never eligible to be President because his father was Kenyan, which made Obama a British subject at birth with dual allegiance and not a natural born citizen as required by the Constitution.
Congress knows that Obama is an illegal President, has a stolen Social Security Number and has forged his birth documents and Selective Service registration.
Nevertheless, all members of Congress have been instructed to feed their constituents misinformation until Obama’s crimes are overtaken by events, namely the 2012 election.
Our permanent political establishment hopes that, with the help of an obsequious mainstream media, the public will forget the politicians’ complicity in the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the American people.”
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/40576
averagemelon commented:
I live in one of the disaster areas and I can tell you flat that nothing REMOTELY like this has happened before. All the protections in place were simply not enough to stop 12″ of rainfall in a mountainous region iin two days.
Insurance companies, FEMA flood insurance included, proved to be worthless. MANY got screwed and lost everything. Some have committed suicide. But we are a tough lot and have rolled up our sleeves and helped each other out. WE HATE THE FEDS. They stand in front of us and tout help but don’t.
Molon Labe commented:
I’m sorry but I can’t quite put my finger on the relevant patrt of the Constiitution that allows this. So if my house burns down its tough, but if 100 other homes are destroyed its okay? This is how we got into this financial mess.