Last night the House of Representatives took to the floor to respond to the bi-partisan legislation, overwhelmingly approved by the Senate, to pull the country back from the edge of the fiscal cliff. The 112th Congress, unlike Wile E. Coyote, didn’t look down after House Republicans let the country walk over the edge for almost 24 hours. Speaker Bohner broke the Hastert Rule allowing consideration of the legislation passed by the Senate early New Year’s Day on an 87-9 vote, even though the majority of House Republicans opposed the legislation. The legislation was passed on a 257-167. 151 of the NO votes were from Republicans.
GOP Congress members Ed Royce, Ken Calvert, and Gary Miller joined Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez in supporting passage of the bill, which, in addition to extending unemployment benefits for more than 2 million Americans, lowered tax rates for individuals making less than $400,000 (couples $450,000) that had automatically increased as of 12:01 am New Years Day. Congress members John Campbell and Dana Rohrabacher thought it best to let taxes raise on all Americans.
But as NBC News reports this morning, the House GOP leaders chose to deliver one final middle finger to the victims of Hurricane Sandy by failing to take a vote on a $60 billion relief package passed by the Senate. Without a House vote, that legislation fails, and the 113th Congress must start over from scratch to draft new relief legislation. Nothing like giving thousands of people a little more uncertainty in their lives for the New Year.
The inaction of the House Republicans is one more example of the “You’re On Your Own” mentality of the GOP.
Ugh! Happy New Year.
Blame the NY, New Jersey politicians.
“The extent of Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge damage did not exceed scientific projections. “
“On Staten Island, developers built more than 2,700 mostly residential structures in coastal areas at extreme risk of storm surge flooding between 1980 and 2008, with the approval of city planning and zoning authorities, according to a review of city building data by scientists at the College of Staten Island. Some of this construction occurred in former marshland along the island’s Atlantic-facing south shore.”
At a 2009 seminar attended by Joshua Friedman, a hazard impact modeler in the city’s Office of Emergency Management, participants reviewed the wide variety of death and destruction that could be expected to result from a major hurricane. Engineers then detailed a variety of surge barriers that might protect the city — at a price tag of at least $6.5 billion, according to a summary of the event provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ New York City chapter.”
• $6.5 billion for storm surges barriers that were NOT built.
• Drain & Fill the marsh to build your house.
• Ask Congress for a $60 billion ‘bailout’.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/hurricane-sandy-damage_n_2114525.html