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House Ignores Storm Relief, to Fury of Local Republicans Stalling of Storm Aid Makes Northeast Republicans Furious
(about 4 hours later)
Elected officials from the New York area erupted with outrage on Wednesday after the House refused to take up a federal aid package for states that suffered damages from Hurricane Sandy, and even local Republicans attacked their Congressional leaders for their inaction. WASHINGTON — Northeastern Republicans, long outnumbered and overshadowed in their own party nationally, erupted in fury on Wednesday after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives blocked a measure that sought to provide billions of dollars in aid to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and other states pummeled by Hurricane Sandy.
“I’m saying right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to Congressional Republicans is out of their minds,” Representative Peter T. King, a Long Island Republican, said during an interview on CNN on Wednesday morning. “Because what they did last night was put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. It was an absolute disgrace.” The depth of the anger was extraordinary and exceedingly personal, with one Republican after another venting their outrage at one man in particular, Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, who quietly moved to keep the bill from coming to the floor early Wednesday morning after a raucous marathon session on fiscal issues.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a Republican, furiously accused the Congressional leadership of his own party of “duplicity” and “selfishness,” and called the decision not to hold a vote on the storm-relief measure “irresponsible.” He said the legislation had fallen victim to “palace intrigue,” and “it’s why the American people hate Congress.” Representative Michael G. Grimm, a Republican whose Staten Island district was among the hardest hit, threatened not to vote for Mr. Boehner in the election for speaker this week. Representative Peter T. King, a Long Island Republican whose constituents also suffered huge losses in the storm, urged New York’s well-heeled donor community not to contribute to Mr. Boehner’s Republican majority.
And Representative Michael G. Grimm, a Republican from Staten Island, said the failure to vote was a “betrayal.” He urged that action be taken as soon as possible. The anger that surfaced on Wednesday seemed to come as a bit of a shock to Mr. Boehner, who quickly sought to contain any political fallout. After meeting with Republican lawmakers from the storm-battered region, Mr. Boehner pledged to bring a $9 billion relief package to the floor on Friday and a $51 billion package on Jan 15.
“It’s not about politics,” Mr. Grimm said. “It’s about human lives.” “Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress,” Mr. Boehner said in a statement that he released with Representative Eric Cantor, the Republican majority leader in the House. “That was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations.”
Last week, the Senate adopted a $60.4 billion aid package, and New York and New Jersey officials said they had been promised the House would vote on the measure Tuesday night. But it was unclear whether Mr. Boehner could undo the damage he had done.
On Wednesday, as the outcry over the House’s decision not to hold a vote on the measure intensified, President Obama issued a statement calling for an immediate vote. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2016, said Mr. Boehner had refused to take his calls on Tuesday night and accused the House leadership of duplicity and selfishness, saying the inaction “is why the American people hate Congress.”
“When tragedy strikes, Americans come together to support those in need,” Mr. Obama said. “I urge Republicans in the House of Representatives to do the same, bring this important request to a vote today, and pass it without delay for our fellow Americans.” After finally getting through to Mr. Boehner on Wednesday morning, Mr. Christie expressed doubt in the speaker’s word in his characteristically blunt way.
Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, met Wednesday with Republican lawmakers from the region and pledged to advance a portion of the legislation on Friday, providing $9 billion for flood insurance. The rest of the package would come up for a vote by Jan. 15. “I’m not going to get into the specifics of what I discussed with John Boehner today,” he told reporters in New Jersey. “But what I will tell you is there is no reason at the moment for me to believe anything they tell me. Because they have been telling me stuff for weeks, and they didn’t deliver.”
“Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations,” Mr. Boehner said in a joint statement issued with the House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia. “The House will vote Friday to direct needed resources to the National Flood Insurance Program. And on January 15th, the first full legislative day of the 113th Congress, the House will consider the remaining supplemental request for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.” Representative King later struck a more conciliatory note. “This procedure that is laid out is fully acceptable” he said, reacting to the schedule presented by Mr. Boehner. “Fact is, we are getting what New York and New Jersey needs, and that is what counts.”
Mr. King said that schedule would be acceptable. Mr. Grimm seemed mollified as well, saying he would support the speaker after all.
“This procedure that is laid out is fully acceptable” he said. “Fact is, we are getting what New York and New Jersey needs, and that is what counts.” As much as the outcry spoke of the extraordinary dissension within the Republican ranks, it also underscored another political reality: the relative lack of clout that Northeastern states like New York have in the House of Representatives, a chamber dominated by conservatives from the South and Midwest.
Mr. Christie and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, released a joint statement condemning the decision not to vote on the storm aid bill this week. In many respects, lawmakers from the region must frequently contend with the perception, whether fair or not, that the region they represent is a liberal bastion that is politically and culturally out of touch with the rest of the country.
“With all that New York and New Jersey and our millions of residents and small businesses have suffered and endured, this continued inaction and indifference by the House of Representatives is inexcusable,” they said, adding, “This failure to come to the aid of Americans following a severe and devastating natural disaster is unprecedented.” The region’s political standing in the House is such that leading New York politicians turned to prominent New York City businessmen with close ties to the Republican Party in their efforts to persuade House leaders to pass a disaster relief package.
Mr. Cuomo, talking with reporters in Albany, went further. He said that House Republicans had “reneged on their word” to vote on the hurricane relief measure this week, and he accused them of “dereliction of duty.” The businessmen, all major political donors, included titans like Kenneth Langone, the venture capitalist and co-founder of Home Depot; Lloyd Blankfein, the chairman of Goldman Sachs; Jerry I. Speyer, chairman and co-chief executive of the Tishman Speyer real estate empire; and Terry J. Lundgren, chairman and chief executive of Macy’s, according to people familiar with the last-minute lobbying effort.
But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a political independent, said that although he was “disappointed,” he would not criticize the Republican leadership. He told reporters in New York City that he had been talking with Mr. Boehner and that “he assured me that this would be considered in the month of January.” Last week, a $60.4 billion aid package was passed in the Democratic-led Senate, far friendlier political terrain for the region, where Charles E. Schumer, New York’s senior senator, is part of the leadership and helped push the package through. Top House Republicans had indicated that they were moving toward a vote on the package Tuesday night.
The bill was apparently delayed by its bad timing. It was eclipsed by negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over a plan intended to avert a series of tax increases and spending cuts that automatically took effect in the new year. But Mr. Boehner had angered many leading conservatives in his caucus by bringing to the floor a Senate-approved tax bill that did not contain sufficient spending cuts to bring the nation’s debt under control. After that bill passed in the House, with significant Democratic support, he was in no mood to further alienate conservatives in his caucus by forcing them to vote on a disaster aid bill that would add to the deficit on the very eve of a vote on whether to continue his speakership.
Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, suggested that the aid request was harmed by its size. Some members of Congress said the aid package was too large, and bloated by unrelated items, including $150 million for fisheries in Alaska and $2 million for museum roofs in Washington. Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, suggested that the aid request was harmed by its size. “Sometimes when you ask for too much, you don’t get anything,” Mr. Blunt told CNN.
“Sometimes when you ask for too much, you don’t get anything,” Mr. Blunt told CNN. As the anger over the House’s decision not to hold a vote on the storm aid measure intensified, President Obama called Mr. Christie and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York on Wednesday, and issued a statement calling for an immediate vote in the House.
As word spread that the House would not bring up the bill for a vote late Tuesday night, lawmakers from both parties who represent people in some of the hardest-hit areas began to speak out. “When tragedy strikes, Americans come together to support those in need,” Mr. Obama said.
Representative Nita M. Lowey, a Democrat from Westchester County, said Tuesday, “I truly feel betrayed this evening.” Mr. Cuomo, after meeting with his cabinet in Albany, told reporters on Wednesday that House Republicans had “reneged on their word.” He said Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor had explicitly told him that the vote would take place on Tuesday.
By Wednesday morning, the anger was even sharper. “I believe it was a dereliction of duty,” Mr. Cuomo said. “To leave New York and New Jersey and thousands of people in this holiday season on their own and abandoned was wrong, and disgraceful in a lot of ways. I think it was unprecedented.”
“Denying emergency aid” to the storm’s victims “is a new low for House Republicans,” said Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey. “When our neighbors in other states are knocked down by emergency events, we put partisan politics aside and extend a helping hand to help them get back up. Helping struggling families recover from disasters has never been a partisan issue in Washington and it never should be. Mr. Cuomo had lobbied heavily for the bill. After Christmas, when he brought his daughters on a skiing trip to Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, the governor stayed off the slopes and made phone calls, reaching Mr. Cantor on his cellphone and checking in with corporate executives who were also calling Republican leaders in the House. On New Year’s Eve, he spent the two-and-a-half-hour car ride from the Adirondacks to the Executive Mansion in Albany making more calls.
“New Jersey and New York families have been hurt badly by Sandy, and it is shameful that Washington Republicans are adding to their pain by standing in the way of their recovery.” “I don’t know what else I can do,” he said.
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, blamed Mr. Boehner. The senator said the speaker’s “failure to allow a vote on Sandy bill is a disgrace.” “There was never any conversation on the merits about the bill,” he added. “It was all politics, and it was all Republican politics, frankly.”
Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, issued a blistering statement on Wednesday, calling the inaction “indefensible and shameful.” She called on Mr. Boehner to visit damaged neighborhoods on Staten Island and in the Rockaways, but said, “I doubt he has the dignity nor the guts to do it.” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a political independent, also lobbied heavily, speaking regularly with Republican leaders and members of the New York delegation. He said that although he was “disappointed,” he would not criticize the Republican leadership, because Mr. Boehner “assured me that this would be considered in the month of January.”
“Speaker Boehner should call his members back for an up-or-down vote today and allow them to vote their consciences,” she said. “Anything less is an insult to New York.”

Thomas Kaplan contributed reporting from Albany, and David W. Chen and Marc Santora from New York.

The proposed $60.4 billion aid bill would cover an assortment of pressing needs. It includes money to help homeowners and small-business owners rebuild from the storm; to repair bridges, tunnels and transportation systems; to reimburse local governments for overtime costs of police, fire and other emergency services; and to replenish shorelines.
The bill that passed in the Senate included $11 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund and $11.7 billion to help pay for repairs to New York’s subways and for other mass transit damages from the storm and to help protect the systems from future storms.
There was also $17 billion for community development block grants, mainly targeted to helping homeowners repair or replace their homes.
The bill also provided billion of dollars for the federal government’s flood insurance program and for the Army Corps of Engineers.
That package would fall far short of the $82 billion that governors from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have said is needed to continue cleaning up and rebuilding after the storm.
But leaders from the region nonetheless embraced it as a good start that would enable local governments, businesses, homeowners and others hurt by the storm to undertake rebuilding projects with the confidence that federal aid was on the way.

Raymond Hernandez contributed reporting from Washington, Thomas Kaplan from Albany and David W. Chen from New York.