Conservatives trim $50 billion Sandy aid bundle
By ANDREW MIGA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — House conservatives opposed to more deficit spending tried Monday to chip away at the $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package by requiring offsetting spending cuts to pay for recovery efforts and by stripping money for projects they say are unrelated to the Oct. 29 storm or not urgently needed.
The push by budget hawks for amendments sets up a fight with Northeast lawmakers in both parties eager to provide recovery aid for one of the worst storms ever to strike the region as the House moves toward expected votes Tuesday on the emergency spending package.
The base $17 billion bill by the House Appropriations Committee is aimed at immediate Sandy recovery needs, including $5.4 billion for New York and New Jersey transit systems and $5.4 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief aid fund.
Northeast lawmakers will have a chance to add to that bill with an amendment by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., for an additional $33.7 billion, including $10.9 billion for public transportation projects.
The Club for Growth, a conservative group, on Monday urged lawmakers to oppose both Sandy aid measures.
“Congress shouldn’t keep passing massive ‘emergency’ relief bills that aren’t paid for, have little oversight, and are stuffed with pork,” the club said in a statement.
Sandy aid supporters, nonetheless, voiced confidence Monday they would prevail. The Senate passed a $60.4 billion Sandy aid package in December with bipartisan support.
“We have more than enough votes, I’m confident of that,” said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., claiming a base of strong support from Democrats as well as Republicans from the Northeast and other states for both the base $17 billion bill and the amendment for the additional $33.7 billion.
King said GOP leaders told him to expect 12 to 15 amendments on the floor. The House Rules Committee was deciding which among more than 90 proposed amendments, many from conservatives seeking to strike additional aid for past disasters and some projects not directly related to Sandy, would advance to the floor for consideration.
“With that many amendments, one could sneak through,” King said. “We should be able to defeat the important amendments, though.”
As with past natural disasters, the $50.7 billion Sandy aid package does not provide for offsetting spending cuts, meaning the aid comes at the cost of higher deficits. The lone exception is an offset provision in the Frelinghuysen amendment requiring that the $3.4 billion for Army Corps of Engineers projects to protect against future storms be paid for by spending cuts elsewhere in the fiscal year 2013 budget.
Posted by Becky Brooks
on Jan 15 2013.
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