Gov. Chris Christie, in a joint statment with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, applauded the "critical" Sandy aid approval by the House of Representatives Friday, but said the $9.7 billion outlay is merely a "down payment."
"While we are pleased with this progress, today was just a down payment and it is now time to go even further and pass the final and more complete, clean disaster aid bill," they said.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure Friday afternoon allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to borrow $9.7 billion to pay insurance claims made by victims of Hurricane Sandy.
The bill, HR 41, temporarily increases the borrowing authority of FEMA to allow the agency to carry out payment claims made by property owners to the National Flood Insurance Program.
Congress is expected to vote on two additional bills authorizing more than $50 billion in Sandy aid on Jan. 15.
"We are trusting Congress to act accordingly on Jan. 15 and pass the final ($50 billion) instrumental for long-term rebuilding in order for New Jersey, New York and our people to recover after the severe devastation of Hurricane Sandy," Christie and Cuomo said.
Congress moved to approve the funding stop-gap Friday after concerns were raised that aid for Sandy victims had been delayed too long. The House, specifically, Majority Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, came under fire for tabling a Sandy aid package until after the New Year.
The insurance aid bill was introduced by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-5, along with 19 co-sponsors, all of them Representatives from either New Jersey or New York.
According to Bloomberg, the measure passed 354-67. The 67 who voted against the bill are all Republicans.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-4, one of the bill's co-sponsors, took to the floor of Congress Friday to urge his fellow Representatives to support the legislation.
"The devastation unleashed by Sandy is without precedent and the impacted communities are in dire need of comprehensive assistance," he said. "Nowhere is this more evident than in the sheer magnitude of the housing damage and the subsequent housing need."
According to Gov. Christie, New Jersey suffered more than $37 billion in property damage following Sandy. According to Christie's office, Smith said, Sandy damaged or destroyed 346,000 housing unites throughout the state, of which more than 72,000 were covered by the NFIP.
Smith said only 18 percent of those who have filed claims have received money thus far.
Local Congressional leaders, both Republican and Democrats alike, joined Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in voicing their displeasure over the delay in aid for Sandy victims. Christie in particular had harsh words for Congress, saying Sandy victims had been played like pawns in a political game and that the delay in voting on the funding package was the result of toxic politics within the Republican party.
But this is exactly why the government shouldn't be involved in something that should be left up to private enterprise.
I don;t buy anything I cannot afford and don't live above my means. I have to put kids through school and college on my own dime, not the taxpayers'. What is worse than any libertarian BS is the crap that the Dems and Reps sell. And it looks like you not only bought it, but are eating it, too.
How's everyone feeling about that nice increase in your tax bill ? Aimed right at the heart of the middle class. Thanks Pres. Just another $2425.00/year to the government. What the hell, chump change. Maximum yearly Social Security tax withholding rises from $4,624.20 (4.2 percent on income up to $110,100) to $7,049.40 (6.2 percent on income up to $113,700). I guess the economy is doing so great there was no need to extend the rate cut.
Republicon s are out of touch with reality and live in denial this is what they worry about dressed in tea party garb crying out for limited govt A Virginia state senator gave Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) a new nickname on Tuesday, resurrecting a fight over McDonnell's support for legislation that would have mandated women have a transvaginal ultrasound before getting an abortion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search During the 2012 United States election cycle, a series of controversies arose as a result of Republican Party candidates' statements regarding rape, pregnancy, abortion, and related topics. The first and most widely covered controversy during this time surrounded Republican U.S. Representative Todd Akin of Missouri, who was the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat. He stated that pregnancy from rape rarely occurs as a result of what he referred to as "legitimate rape." Akin's comments had a far-reaching political impact, changing a focus of campaigns across the country onto the so-called "War on Women."[1][2] Following Akin's comments, there were additional controversies surrounding comments made by other socially conservative Republican candidates. The most notable of these was Indiana State Treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, who said that pregnancy from rape was "something that God intended", triggering a nationwide controversy nearly on the scale of that resulting from Akin's comments. A number of observers have identified Mourdock's and Akin's comments as a principal factor in their election losses.[3] The comments are also credited for having a larger national effect
costofwars.com to see what the Bush admin has done to the ppl of this country
Whats he done for the folks affected by Sandy? Hey you voted for him
Under Clinton, the national debt under his watch rose by $1.6 Trillion, a number Obama produces just about every 12 months. It is true that the last few years his annual budgets did not have deficits (deficits not same as debt) thanks to a GOP congress that slowed spending to under 1% for a number of those years and a booming pre dot com burst economy. Debt 1980 - $1T Debt 1992- $4T Debt 2000 - $5.6T Debt 2008 - $9.6T Debt today - $16.7T
There are alot of individuals who are unemployed. You shouldn't be so judgemental of other's that are less fortunate.