Congress delays vote on Hurricane Sandy aid bill

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Peter Lake hails from the Midwest, but is now living in Germany. He is a professional writer who spent many years honing his craft at a well known newspaper. Peter originally sent an article to us through the citizen journalist program and decided to stay. We are glad he did.
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Republicans are among the most venal people on earth.  Notorious for wanting to get rid of social security, medical care, environmental protections, abortion and gay marriage rights, and the list goes on and on, they are now closing their already tight fists to the millions of people impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

The 112th congress may have squeaked through a deal on the fiscal cliff, but shortly afterward John Boehner announced that it won’t be voting on a $60.4 billion FEMA aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy, reports USA Today. Though the Senate passed the bill and the House had been expected to pick it up last night, Boehner announced late that the decision would have to wait until the new session of congress, which begins tomorrow. This likely means that the Senate will have to vote anew on the package.

A bipartisan cadre of legislators from affected districts blasted the delay, with New York Rep. Pete King calling it “unprecedented for the United States Congress to walk away from a natural disaster. This to me is just walking away from responsibility.” New Jersey’s Rush Holt said he was unable to speak on the matter because “I’m afraid my anger is going to get the better of me.” But a spokesman for Boehner says that the speaker is “committed to getting this bill passed this month,” and cited reports that FEMA has all the money it needs til spring anyway.

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