Turning their backs on the communities ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, last night the House Republican leadership made an unconscionable decision to adjourn the 112th Congress without allowing a vote on the Sandy relief bill. Despite strong, bipartisan action in the Senate, the House GOP leadership is ignoring pleas of families and small businesses trying to rebuild—and their representatives:
GOP Rep. Peter King: “The conduct of the Republican leadership was disgraceful; it was indefensible; and it was immoral…We have a moral obligation—as Republicans, as Democrats, as Americans; I spoke to Governor Christie, Governor Cuomo, we’ve been in constant contact with Mayor Bloomberg. We cannot believe that this cruel knife in the back was delivered to our region…Don’t walk out in the dark of night and ignore us.” [House Floor, 1/2]
With the National Flood Insurance Fund set to run out of funds as soon as January 7th, a look at the numbers shows the consequences of this choice are dire:
5 to 12: Number of days estimated until the National Flood Insurance Fund exhausts its borrowing authority
139,394: Number of Sandy-related claims to date for FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Fund
12,166: Number of those claims closed
$9.7 billion: Amount of new borrowing authority provided in Senate-passed supplemental
More numbers you need to know about this dereliction of duty:
2: Hurricane Sandy’s ranking as the second most costly natural disaster in American history, only behind Hurricane Katrina
65: Days since Sandy came ashore New York and New Jersey
10: Days after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana that Congress passed over $62 billion in aid
$60.4 billion: Amount of disaster relief that overwhelmingly passed in the Senate for the victims of Hurricane Sandy
$0: Amount of aid House Republican Leaders passed for Hurricane Sandy victims
17.5 million: People who were directly affected by Hurricane Sandy
651,000: Homes damaged or destroyed in New York and New Jersey
463,000: Small businesses that were impacted in New York and New Jersey
$4: Amount taxpayers save in future damage for each dollar in mitigation spent now
Photo Credit: AP