Question: How do you feel about the House of Representatives ending their term without taking a vote on the $60.4B Sandy aid package?

For anyone who believes that the Federal Government is the answer to whatever ails us, this should cement in your mind how lax they are in coming to your aid when you need it most…and how you’re best served by depending on yourself.

The flip side of the coin is the fact that New Jersey sends tons of money to Washington, and in our hour of need are, at the very least, being shunted aside.

What it points out to me is how ridiculously partisan and impotent Congress is when it comes to dealing with the most pressing matters…like aid to communities affected by Superstorm Sandy…as well as the Fiscal Cliff...which they waited until the clock had expired before coming to an agreement:

According to this:

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio indicated late Tuesday the 112th Congress would end its term without voting on federal emergency aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

“The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month,” Boehner’s spokesman, Brendan Buck, said in an email.
Buck also emailed a news article reporting that Craig Fugate, head of the the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said his agency will not need additional money until spring.

Lawmakers from Northeast states including New Jersey and New York had hoped the House would vote Wednesday on the $60.4 billion aid package that passed the Senate on Friday.

If the House leaves the aid package to the next Congress, the new Senate will have to vote on the package again. The 113th Congress will be in session Thursday and Friday and then recess for a week.

News that a House vote would not come during this Congress drew outraged responses from Republican and Democratic House members from New Jersey and New York, many of whom went to the floor around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday to express their dismay.

“I think it’s unprecedented for the United States Congress to walk away from a natural disaster,’’ King said, adding that he was not given a reason for the postponement. “This, to me, is just walking away from responsibility.’’

Democratic Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey said he wishes he could speak eloquently on the issue, “but I’m afraid my anger is going to get the better of me.”

“Why would we not help each other as this House has always done?” he said.

Democratic Rep. Rob Andrews of New Jersey said House leaders have failed the people of New Jersey.

“Our people are in great need of assistance,” he said. “Every time we have been called upon to help other areas of the country, we have responded. It is outrageous that our needs are being pushed aside tonight.”

King and Republican Rep. Michael Grimm of Staten Island, who represents some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, joined Democrats at an impromptu news conference to publicly plead for Boehner to reconsider.

Grimm described himself as “somewhat in disbelief and almost ashamed,’’ adding that he’s “not proud’’ of the decision his party has made.

See, but somehow, you can’t have it both ways.

You can’t, on one hand, call for cuts in spending, which, by the way, the newly approved bill puts off…and yet clamor for aid from the Feds.

But given the fact that our region sees little in return for the dollars sent to Washington, and answers the call to come to the aid of other areas hit by disasters, it behooves the House to take up the Sandy relief bill the sooner the better.

The Senate has already done its part in passing a Sandy relief bill to the tune of $60.4 billion this past Friday.

The ball is in the House’s court...but it looks like they want to hold onto it, and the "shot clock" is running down to one!

Do you feel the House of Representatives should take up the Hurricane Sandy relief bill before they adjourn?

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