In the hour of our greatest need the Republican-controlled House of Representatives turned its back on the storm-ravaged communities of New York and New Jersey.
After reaching an 11th hour agreement to save America from going over the fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner refused to call a vote on providing federal aid to the states devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
In the face of a crisis that destroyed thousands of homes, closed businesses and even shut down a major New York City hospital, the House of Representatives did nothing for more than 70 days.
Compare that to Hurricane Katrina when the first of two Katrina spending bills totaling $62.3 billion was approved and signed five days after the hurricane struck Louisiana.
Hours after his party failed to approve aid that had long before been passed by the Senate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gave the Speaker and the GOP a tongue lashing they will not soon forget.
In an emotional press conference on Jan. 2, Christie said Republican lawmakers in Washington put “palace intrigue” ahead of their official responsibilities. He said the House leadership showed “callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state.”
“Shame on you. Shame on Congress,” he said.
Rep. Peter King of Long Island called Boehner’s lack of action a “cruel knife in the back.”
Stung by the criticism coming from the Northeast, within hours of Christie’s press conference, Boehner announced that the new congress would take up the funding issue when they reconvened. The House approved $9 billion last Friday and is expected to vote on the remaining $51 billion on Jan. 15.
To be sure Boehner is no profile courage. Despite the misery that continues in New York and New Jersey, he didn’t want to further upset to conservatives led by the Tea Party who were already unhappy about the tax compromise. But it appears he did not expect the bipartisan condemnation coming from Christie, King, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg, among others.
Disaster aid should not be a political football. Tens of thousands of Americans lost their homes and more than 300,000 businesses were affected. And yet Congress did nothing until Jan. 4.
The need for the Sandy relief money was carefully documented. Because of the inexcusable delay people could not hire contractors to repair their storm-battered homes and businesses could not get bank loans.
What were Boehner and the GOP waiting for? The failure of the House of Representatives to respond to this crisis in a timely fashion remains inexcusable.
