As expected, the House of Representatives today approved, 241 to 180, an additional $50.7 billion in federal aid for states affected by Hurricane Sandy. Only 49 Republicans voted for the bill; 179 voted against. (The bill itself was for $17 billion in aid; the remaining $33.7 billion in aid was accomplished via amendment and approved by a 228-192 vote, consisting of 190 Democrats and 38 Republican crossovers.) The aid approved today is in addition to the nearly $10 billion allocated earlier in the month, meaning that the total House package of $60 billion matches the previously approved Senate package. So that's it. All that Republican drama, all the interest groups demanding Congress not allocate disaster relief, all the other groups demanding it not be done unless the budget is cut an equal amount first, and that one glorious day in which the ever-delaying John Boehner was the target of fuming soliloquies by Republicans such as New York Rep. Peter King and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—done. Read more http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/...ditional-50-billion-in-Hurricane-Sandy-relief
The bill was full of non-relief pork barrel spending that increases our deficit. Republicans claim they wanted to vote for a bill without the pork. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/14/watchdog-sees-pork-sandy-relief-bill/ The funding was expected to be voted on two weeks ago, but House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, changed gears and pulled a proposal after Republican lawmakers raised questions about some of the spending that was unrelated to the relief efforts. Still, the Club for Growth and other budget watchdogs, such as Taxpayers for Common Sense, say the $51 billion package that Congress is expected to consider this week also includes millions of dollars for Amtrak upgrades, FBI salaries and road projects in states not affected by the storm.
