[Rant] Congress Decides to Not Vote on Sandy Relief Bill

[SpecialKO]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/01/02/sandy-relief-congress-reaction/1804153/

I'm actually massively pissed about this, and my community got off super clean compared to most of Southern Jersey.

I'm not even sure who specifically to be pissed at, but this bill has been in the works for weeks, everyone local is for it, and getting it in before the 113th session starts and everything in the process has to start over was incredibly critical...and Congress just dropped it after the fiscal cliff circus finished.

Even if it had gone to vote and tabled for re-submission, that would have at least gotten some initial wheels going on this. But it didn't even get that.

Fuck you, Congress.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Chris Christie is also pissed

 

[SpecialKO]

His speech that's on right now is pretty awesome in it's pissed-off-Jersey-ness.

 

[Dave]

Peter King says it's happening Friday.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...use-to-vote-on-sandy-aid-king-says/?hpt=hp_c1

 

[SpecialKO]

When Peter King is the sane and rational one, you know things have gotten patently absurd. Hopefully, the folks in Southern Jersey can hang on for a bit longer.

 

[strawman]

They've already poured over a billion of federal aide into the states affected. No one is freezing and starving due to the lack of federal funds. They've already voted once for emergency funding, and this is a second round of funding.

Someone is raising a stink about it, probably for political reasons, but these funds will get there soon enough. It's not like Congress and FEMA have been sitting idly by for the last two months doing absolutely nothing about Sandy.

Someone is impatient, and hit the right news cycle for it to get big is all. Now they have their promises about getting it done this week, so their tactic worked.

Politics as usual.

 

[Adam]

A bunch of sites are reporting that the pork in the bill is ridiculous, including funding for fisheries in Alaska. I haven't been able to find the bill to confirm.

 

[SpecialKO]

A bunch of sites are reporting that the pork in the bill is ridiculous, including funding for fisheries in Alaska. I haven't been able to find the bill to confirm.

I'm sure there's pork (it's a Congressional bill), but so far the only thing I've seen that's genuinely objectionable (at least in the context of the bill) is spending $2M to repair a room in the Smithsonian, and $4M for Kennedy Space Center.

The fisheries stuff was pulled from the bill long before this point, apparently.

What's left of what is being called "pork" is primarily:

• money going to repair and re-fit Amtrak and NJTransit (which is used a ton by people in NY and NJ)
• replenishing FEMA's disaster-relief budget that has been mostly spent by Sandy operations
• funding for Manhattan's VA Medical Center
• upping the Army Corps of Engineer's annual budget in light of everything spent to get them to, and operating in, the area
• re-building non-infrastructural environmental damage caused by Sandy

[DOUBLEPOST=1357163065][/DOUBLEPOST]

They've already poured over a billion of federal aide into the states affected. No one is freezing and starving due to the lack of federal funds. They've already voted once for emergency funding, and this is a second round of funding.

Someone is raising a stink about it, probably for political reasons, but these funds will get there soon enough. It's not like Congress and FEMA have been sitting idly by for the last two months doing absolutely nothing about Sandy.

Someone is impatient, and hit the right news cycle for it to get big is all. Now they have their promises about getting it done this week, so their tactic worked.

Politics as usual.

Yee-ha for disaster relief by installments!

 

[Adam]

I'm sure there's pork (it's a Congressional bill), but so far the only thing I've seen that's genuinely objectionable (at least in the context of the bill) is spending $2M to repair a room in the Smithsonian, and $4M for Kennedy Space Center.

The fisheries stuff was pulled from the bill long before this point, apparently.

What's left of what is being called "pork" is primarily:

• money going to repair and re-fit Amtrak and NJTransit (which is used a ton by people in NY and NJ)
• replenishing FEMA's disaster-relief budget that has been mostly spent by Sandy operations
• funding for Manhattan's VA Medical Center
• upping the Army Corps of Engineer's annual budget in light of everything spent to get them to, and operating in, the area
• re-building non-infrastructural environmental damage caused by Sandy

I'm finding the same things but I'd like the full bill so I can read for myself. Google failing me!

I'm thinking this is it:

Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 201

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr1eas/pdf/BILLS-112hr1eas.pdf

 

[SpecialKO]

Dunno if that's the most recent version that has the fisheries stuff taken out, but I'm sure it's 90% correct.

I'm only on page 24 so far, but the only thing I really question is the DoD funding stuff that doesn't seem directly tied to Sandy (like spending $1M on ammo). Seems to total around $60M or so.

 

[Dave]

Peter King is PISSED!

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/...t-republican-party-for-blocking-sandy-relief/

 

[Adam]

Dunno if that's the most recent version that has the fisheries stuff taken out, but I'm sure it's 90% correct.

I'm only on page 24 so far, but the only thing I really question is the DoD funding stuff that doesn't seem directly tied to Sandy (like spending $1M on ammo). Seems to total around $60M or so.

The pork is negligible. Especially for a funding bill of this type. Republicans complaining about things like the Alaskan fisheries funding (which was removed) may be surprised to learn of the republican Alaskan representation.

 

[GasBandit]

Ever since Ted Stevens got control of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Alaska always seems to be the running pork joke. They get bridges to nowhere and $400,000 fairgrounds above the arctic circle.

 

[Zappit]

This is nothing more than sour grapes from the ultra-conservative minority that makes getting anything done so damn difficult. It's getting to a point that they'll try to block any bill.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...-party-for-consequences-of-fiscal-cliff-vote/

This is the mindset of the tea party and their representatives in Congress.

 

[GasBandit]

This is nothing more than sour grapes from the ultra-conservative minority that makes getting anything done so damn difficult. It's getting to a point that they'll try to block any bill.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...-party-for-consequences-of-fiscal-cliff-vote/

This is the mindset of the tea party and their representatives in Congress.

Well, they have a point, Obama and Biden totally made Boehner and McConnell their bitches. Democrats got the tax hikes they wanted, and only nebulous, easily discarded promises of vague spending cuts to be delivered at some date in the future (or not).

At some point, people are going to wake up and realize we don't have any money. It's just a matter of how far in debt we'll get until that happens.

 

[AshburnerX]

At some point, people are going to wake up and realize we don't have any money. It's just a matter of how far in debt we'll get until that happens.

The day someone tries to collect on that debt is the day the current system of banking and lending ends. It will simply never happen without blood. There are far too many people using it as a means of control to let it happen.

 

[Terrik]

The day someone tries to collect on that debt is the day the current system of banking and lending ends. It will simply never happen without blood. There are far too many people using it as a means of control to let it happen.

Well! That's reassuring then!

 

[Dave]

Gas always talks like the republicans are the party of spending cuts and fiscal responsibility, which is just...cute. Many, MANY studies have shown much more gets spent under the R's than the D's. So if you want fiscal responsibility, you want the D.

 

[GasBandit]

Gas always talks like the republicans are the party of spending cuts and fiscal responsibility, which is just...cute. Many, MANY studies have shown much more gets spent under the R's than the D's. So if you want fiscal responsibility, you want the D.

On the contrary, I frequently lambast the Republicans for not walking the walk, especially during the Bush 2 years. Heck, didn't you just see my Ted Stevens comment on THIS VERY PAGE? But that's not what that discussion was about - it was about how Boehner got spanked and the rank and file are not happy with him because the loudest of their constituents - the oh-so-feared-and-hated Tea Party types - aren't happy with him.

 

[Dave]

On the contrary, I frequently lambast the Republicans for not walking the walk, especially during the Bush 2 years. Heck, didn't you just see my Ted Stevens comment on THIS VERY PAGE? But that's not what that discussion was about - it was about how Boehner got spanked and the rank and file are not happy with him because the loudest of their constituents - the oh-so-feared-and-hated Tea Party types - aren't happy with him.

John Stewart says it best.

 

[GasBandit]

John Stewart says it best.

You're talking about sandy aid - the article linked that I was responding to was about the fiscal cliff, only mentioning the sandy relief bill in passing.