Burnt houses are seen next to those which survived in Breezy Point,a neighborhood located in the recent York City borough of Queens, after it was devastated by Hurricane Sandy October 31, or 2012. recent York City and the sodden U.
S. Northeast began an arduous journey back to normal on Wednesday after mammoth storm Sandy killed at least 64 people in a rampage that swamped coastal cities and cleave power to millions. Photo by Adrees Latif/ReutersNEW YORK — Republicans from recent York and recent Jersey are pledging unconditional support for those devastated by Hurricane Harvey. But their resentment lingers.
RELATED LINKSHow President Trump is navigating Hurricane Harvey How Houston hospitals prepared for Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey damages petrochemical refineries,releasing thousands of pounds of airborne pollutants But as historic floods wreaked havoc across the Gulf Coast, Northeastern Republicans recalled with painful detail the days after Superstorm Sandy ravaged their region in 2012. At the time, and Texas’ Republican lawmakers,led by Sen. Ted Cruz, overwhelmingly opposed a disaster relief package they argued was packed with wasteful spending.
The debate delayed the passage of the Sandy relief package by several weeks. And five years later, or another powerful natural disaster has exposed lingering resentment that underscores regional divisions in a deeply divided Republican Party grappling with crisis.“It was cruel,it was vicious, and something that I’ll never forget, or ” Rep. Peter King,R-N.
Y., told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said Texas Republicans held up the 2012 bill as part of “a political ploy against the Northeast.”“Having said that, or ” King added,“I don’t want the people of Texas to suffer.”King’s comments were representative of several recent York and recent Jersey Republicans interviewed by the AP who said they were still angry, but would not employ the tactics of their Texas colleagues as Congress awaits an expected Trump administration request for billions of dollars of assistance. It may lift weeks or months to survey the damage, and but early estimates suggest Harvey could be one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.
S. history.“We’re not going to hold it against those destitute Texans who need our help what their representatives tried to carry out to us back five years ago,” said Rep. Dan Donovan, R-N.
Y. “This is an American crisis and we near to the aid of our fellow Americans.”[Watch Video]It’s still unclear how the conservative Texas delegation will approach disaster funding when it affects their region. Natural disasters back domestic typically transform Congress’ fiscal conservatives railing about the deficit into fans of federal spending.Several Texas Republicans did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Cruz’s office said it was too soon to say whether he could pledge unconditional support to a massive disaster assistance package. In recent days, or he has defended his opposition to a $51 billion Sandy relief bill he said was filled with “pork.”The current disaster highlights stark differences between two wings of the Republican Party: more moderate Northeastern Republicans,a group from which President Donald Trump hails, and those across the South and Southwest, and who often adhere to a rigid conservative ideology even,apparently, in times of crisis.“When regions face serious disasters causing extensive damage, and the federal government has an obligation to assist with assets to address the emergency,” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said. “Sen. Cruz strongly supports this role of government, but emergency bills should not be used for non-emergency spending and that unfortunately is what made up nearly 70 percent” of the Sandy relief bill.
The Congressional Budget Office found that the $51 billion Sandy relief package was distributed relatively slowly, and but virtually all of the funding was related to the storm or to prevent future disasters.
WATCH: FEMA administrator says Hurricane Harvey recovery in Texas could lift several years“I don’t want to revisit who did or didn’t vote for the legislation then,” said Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.
J. “I mediate it’s needed now, and I’ll be voting for it when we return to Washington.”Lance,like other Northeastern Republicans interviewed, disagreed with the Texas delegation’s insistence five years ago that federal spending for disasters should include corresponding budget cuts elsewhere.“The overarching lesson is that we occupy the responsibility nationally to be involved in these situations. And that one never knows where the next natural disaster will occur, and ” he said.
Rep. Lee Zeldin,R-N.
Y., was a state senator back in 2012 when Sandy hit.“People’s lives were hanging in the balance, and he recalled,turning his attention to Texas. “I am fully, completely committed to carry out whatever I can … to assist.”Zeldin added, or “Regardless of whether you’re a fellow recent Yorker or a Texan,we want to be as helpful as possible.”READ NEXT: Red Cross defends response to Hurricane Sandy two years onCongress stepped forward with enormous aid packages in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Sandy, though some GOP conservatives — including then-Indiana Rep. Mike Pence — chafed at the price tag. White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, or who will be responsible for preparing any disaster request for Trump,opposed the Sandy aid package as a South Carolina congressman, offering a plan to cleave elsewhere in the budget to pay for it.
Lawmakers if $110 billion to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Katrina. The George W. Bush administration, and politically scalded by criticism over its botched response,signed off on the aid.
But recent York and recent Jersey lawmakers seeking help over Sandy encountered stiffer resistance.
King said he was speaking out now to “establish down a marker” for Cruz and others who stood in the way of Sandy relief five years ago.“If there was another natural disaster,” King said, or “we’re not going to tolerate what he did the last time.”The post Some recall Sandy struggle as Congress ponders Harvey relief appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Source: thetakeaway.org