The House has approved $9.7 billion in new aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy, a face-saving quick move taken three days after House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) earned scathing criticism from New York and New Jersey Republicans for canceling a late-night vote on the funds.
The bill, which will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay out claims to those who held federal flood insurance, was approved on a 354 to 67 vote. The Senate is expected to adopt it later Friday on a unanimous voice vote.
Boehner seems to have had reason to be concerned about bringing a larger $60 billion spending measure to the floor on Tuesday: All the votes against the smaller bill on Friday came from his own party members.
They were encouraged by the conservative Club for Growth, which argued the additional disaster spending should be offset with cuts to other government programs. The continued GOP opposition could spell trouble for a larger $51 billion Sandy bill that Boehner has promised will come before the House on Jan. 15.
And it provided a second example in a week of a bill approved with more Democratic support than Republican backing, an outcome that deeply troubles conservatives about the efficacy of their governing majority in the House.
Still, it quieted a political storm for Boehner that erupted when he pulled the bill from the floor late Tuesday, worried he would have trouble corralling GOP votes for it from members exhausted from a debate over a bill to avert the “fiscal cliff” by raising taxes on the wealthy.
Boehner’s decision prompted an eruption of anger from lawmakers and others from states affected by the November superstorm. Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J) told reporters that Boehner had ignored four calls from him Tuesday night and blamed “toxic internal politics” in the Republican caucus for dropping the ball.
The New York Daily News ran a cover with with Boehner’s face next to an image of the Statue of Liberty — with a bloody knife in her back.
Canceling the Tuesday vote meant the 112th Congress expired without action, delaying the vote until the 113th Congress took over on Thursday. Still, Friday’s vote — with the speedy Senate approval — seems to have quieted the GOP criticism.
Republicans from affected states who had been threatening to withhold their support for Boehner to serve as speaker in the new Congress all backed him when the vote was held Thursday.
Still, Democrats pressed their criticisms of Boehner for the delay, noting that the $60 billion bill that passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote died with the congressional turnover. The fate of the bulk of that bill will not be settled until later this month.
“This was the most callous action I’ve ever seen. The leadership of this House should be condemned for it,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).
But Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), who was pushing for passage of the legislation, warned colleagues that the nation’s flood insurance program is “unsustainable,” with more money being paid out in claims than is collected in premiums.
“That can’t go on,” he said. “We must work together on that.”
The House vote was the first significant legislative act of the new Congress. It is also its last before recessing until Jan. 14.
House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy aid, with some Republican dissent
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House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy aid, with some Republican dissent
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House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy aid, with some Republican dissent
