Hurricane Sandy Victims Still Wait for Congress to Act

“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.