“Treat us like you treat Israel,” say victims of devastating superstorm
It’s a sad state of affairs in this country when
the thousands of victims of Hurricane Sandy
on the East Coast of the United States are still
waiting for Congress to offer aid. Contrast this
to the almost instantaneous congressional action
when Israel requests U.S. taxpayer funds for
weapons of war used to slaughter innocent people.
More than 250 people perished from the storm,
140 in the U.S., and many remain homeless, yet Israel,
which is awealthy economy that rarely suffers
natural disasters, regularly gorges at the trough of
the U.S. Treasury, knowing full-well that U.S. citizens
are, in many cases, starving.
The latest slap in the face to the American public
comes more than 10 weeks after Sandy devastated
parts of the Northeast U.S. Nearly $51 billion
in emergency relief was approved by the Republican-
controlled House of Representatives on Jan.
15. In comparison, Congress approved $62 billion
in federal disaster aid just 10 days after Hurricane
Katrina hit in 2005.
According to The Guardian, after the 241-180
vote, “officials said the Senate was likely to accept
the measure early next week and send it to Barack
Obama for his signature.”
Conservative members of the House had earlier
“failed in an attempt to offset a part of the bill’s
cost with across-the-board federal budget cuts.”
That vote was 258-162.
Reuters reports that “legislation had been tied up
for weeks in the House amid congressional brawling
over U.S. deficit reduction, spending and taxes
in the New Year’s new fiscal drama,” as some GOP
legislatorswere intent on tying aid to spending cuts.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said, “As we continue
to borrow more than 30 cents on the dollar,
much of it fromthe Chinese, can and should the federal
government continue to fund the restoration of
private homes, businesses and automobiles?”
The battle was so fierce, that New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo, a Democrat, and New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie, a Republican, issued a joint statement
urging Congress to prove “support for Americans
in times of crisis, no matter where they live
across this great country.” Meanwhile Congress
has already approved nearly $1 billion for Israel in
the 2013 military funding bill.
