Speaker John Boehner’s since-rescinded decision to put off a vote on a bill providing disaster relief to the victims of Hurricane Sandy turned out to be another black eye for House Republicans. The televised rage of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie over the move was just one among many condemnations that were shown over and again on TV news channels. It fit right into the prevailing media narrative about congressional dysfunction as well as the idea that the House is led by extremists who don’t care about the Northeast. Given that the hurricane gave an unanticipated boost to President Obama’s re-election (though it almost certainly didn’t affect the outcome), Sandy appears to be a gift that just keeps on giving for Democrats.
Boehner had no choice but to backtrack on allowing a vote on the relief bill since to stick to his position in the face of so much opposition, including the disagreement of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, was impossible. But before we file away this episode as just another example of an unforced error on the part of the GOP, it is vital that the objections to the bill be understood outside of the context of the grandstanding on the part of Christie and others, such as Rep. Peter King. Far from being a pure relief package that hard-hearted Republicans were obstructing, the bill is a stereotypical piece of legislative pork filled with funding for projects that are unrelated to recovery from Sandy’s devastation, but which feathers the nests of supporters of various senators and members of Congress as well as federal agencies. Seen in this light, the lambasting of Boehner is just a cover for a revival of a practice the speaker and other reform-minded members thought they had already gotten ride of: earmarking.
Earmarks had been banned by the House but under the cover of sympathy for Sandy, they have made a remarkable comeback. Here are just a few of the outrageous items that somehow were slipped into the $60.4 billion relief package:
* $150 million for Alaskan fisheries
* $41 million for military facilities such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
* $8 million to buy cars for the Justice and Homeland Security departments
* $3.1 million for an animal disease center
* $2 million for repair of the roofs of the Smithsonian Institution museums
* $58 million for reforestation on private land
* $100 million for Head Start day care centers
* $17 billion for Community Development Block grants that act as slush funds for members of Congress
While much of the money in the bill is intended for and will go to genuine victims of Sandy, these items demonstrate that a great deal of the funds allocated here will not do so. That’s why the mockery of the calls for accountability by congressional critics of the bill is mere partisan flummery. The fact that such practices are traditional is no defense of their continuation.
The willingness of the mainstream media to jump on Boehner for slowing down the rush to pass this pork-laden bill gives the lie to all of the lip service being paid to the idea of reducing spending and ending the corruption endemic to the earmark process. Though relief for Sandy’s victims can and should be passed, natural disasters should not be used as a flimsy cover for corrupt earmarks and patronage schemes.
Christie is a jack ass.
Governor Christie and Congressman King are posturing for their constituencies. The fact that they are Republicans does not excuse their behavior at all. Their actions are pure political theater, and unpleasant to watch.
I can't wait until YOUR city is destroyed and then we'll see how you feel as weeks go by with no home to live in, no job and no relief in sight while the while members of Congress do nothing and call it standing on principal. It is shameful for you to call it posturing when the people they represent are suffering. Imagine, politicians actually representing the very people who elected them and not just wealthy donors. The bill should have been passed weeks ago.
Try again, pal. I live in NYC and have family at the Jersey Shore that was directly affected. Yet I can see that loading up a bill with pork that has nothing to do with Hurricane Sandy doesn't solve a damn thing.
Every bill gets loaded up with pork, that's the way business is done in Congress. So you let people with no where to go and no money to rebuild because it's business as usual in Washington suffer needlessly as if doing so will change Congress? You are aware of course that loads of pork is attached to military expenditure bills and yet those bills pass with an overwhelming majority. BTW, having your house destroyed and your source of income gone and some relatives is entirely different. Apparently, they have the financial means to go for what may be months without any assistance however, not everyone affected is so fortunate.
Simply saying that's how business is done in Congress is a cop out. For a country that is struggling, it's not an acceptable answer any more. n nI've seen the effect that Sandy has had on friends and relatives. It's awful. But that isn't an excuse for poor behavior on the part of Governor Christie, Rep. King or the Senate. Christie and King were engaging in political grandstanding designed to seem like they are doing something against the House. As I say below, the Senate deserves the derision for treating the Sandy relief bill like a Christmas tree.
How do conservatives expect to maintain facilities such as Guantanamo and the Smithsonian without appropriations? I, for one, do not want a leaky roof at the Air and Space Museum. n nIt is puzzling why these would be listed as "outrageous items." n
Maybe you should put the blame on the Senate that made this bill a Christmas tree rather than try to solve a real problem. That's also where Christie and King should focus their blame, rather than on the House.