Sharp contrast between GOP handling of Irene vs GOP handling of Katrina

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"After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the surrounding region in 2005, the Republican-controlled Congress approved $81.6 billion as "emergency spending" outside of the normal budget process.


Republicans have not in the past been reluctant to approve disaster-relief money free from normal budget constraints."



Nobody is suggesting that Irene will require anywhere near the amount the Republican-controlled Congress appropriated for Katrina.



We have a higher deficit now - but we had a sizable defict then, too.


But, now, unlike in the past, the GOP is demanding concessions or they will block aid to help state and local governments, people and businesses impacted by Irene.



"A top Republican said on Monday that any federal aid will have to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.


"Yes there's a federal role, yes we're going to find the money. We're just going to make sure that there are savings elsewhere," Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, told Fox News."









http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/us-storm-irene-debt-idUSTRE77S4XY20110829
 
From washed-away roads in North Carolina to historic bridges flooded out in Vermont, Hurricane Irene took its toll up and down the Eastern Seaboard.


But the East is not the only region to suffer from natural disasters this year.


There was a string of deadly tornadoes in the South this spring, floods along the Mississippi and in the Upper Midwest, and last May's devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo.


FEMA administrator Craig Fugate says his agency will postpone work on some of the repair and restoration projects resulting from the earlier storms to pay for the immediate needs resulting from Irene.


All told, there have been 10 storms that cost at least a billion dollars each this year, if you include Irene's expected costs.


So the administration will be forced to go to Congress for more aid, setting up a potential fight with House Republicans.


In the past, emergency aid funds have been treated as, well, emergencies, and the money spent was added to the deficit.


No more, says House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.





irene_road_custom.jpg
Damage caused by Irene. Hans Pennink/AP





http://www.npr.org/2011/08/29/140042914/costs-of-irene-add-up-as-fema-runs-out-of-cash

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Since Irene was no big deal, according to some, I guess this is just liberal propaganda:


National Guard and firefighters rescued hundreds people from record flooding in New Jersey on Tuesday and Vermont planned to airlift food and water to inland towns cut off by Hurricane Irene after its paralyzing rampage through the U.S. northeast.


Irene killed about 40 people when it dumped 5 to 15 inches of rain over wide swathes of the U.S. East Coast on Saturday and Sunday.


It spared New York City but caused the worst flooding in decades in inland areas of New York state, New Jersey and Vermont.


Search and rescue teams have plucked nearly 600 people from homes in recent days with the most intense efforts on Tuesday when the Passaic River measured 13 feet (4 metres) above flood stage, the highest level since 1903, Paterson police Sgt. Alex Popov said.


Firefighters rescued some by boat and the National Guard saved others by truck.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...77T13F20110830


Of course, nobody cares about those pussies out East - or their 'stench'.


Out in Colorado, where men are men and Buddhists dance like Dervishes, I hear they have 70 MPH winds every day; 10 inches of rain per hour, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on alternating weekdays, and it's no big deal.


Naturally, nobody in Colorado ever needs the House Majority leader to help them by appropriating disaster relief funds.
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100 mph winds are standard fare in Colorado, and don't forget, winter in Colorado starts in August.
 
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