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.
