Hal Rogers: No offsets for Oklahoma aid

[dlwickham]

Source: Politico

The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said Tuesday there’s $11 billion left in the nation’s disaster relief account, and if additional aid is needed, corresponding budget cuts would be inappropriate.

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) told a small group of reporters that if FEMA needs more money, it should not be matched by spending cuts.

“I really don’t think disasters of this type should be offset,” Rogers said. “We have an obligation to help those people. We’ll worry about our budgetary items back here, but the aid has to be there.”

House Speaker John Boehner was asked repeatedly if a disaster aid package would need to be offset — as his party has requested in the past — and he would only say that Congress will work with the Obama administration to provide the help that’s needed.





Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/hal-rogers-no-offsets-for-oklahoma-aid-91662.html?hp=r3_b1

[Paladin]

1. Your move, Sen. Coburn. (nt)

[global1]

2. I Posted This Elsewhere On DU Today - Check It Out - What I Overheard This A.M.......

This is what I overheard this A.M. while in a checkout line in a local food store.

A husband was talking to his wife in line (at least I think they were married):

"Obama is the luckiest guy around. He now has another disaster to help him out. This tornado will put a lot of money into the economy to clean-up and rebuild that town. That money will stimulate the economy. Boy did he luck out."

I was furious - but I held my tongue and didn't say anything to this guy.

When I got home and thought about it - perhaps that's why Coburn and Inhofe want offsetting cuts for any disaster relief going to these Moore, OK victims. They are pushing that - because they don't want to do anything that will ultimately help Obama out.

Any thoughts here?

[Paladin]

5. Coburn's retirement is pending.....

....so he can go off on any ideological tangent he chooses. Inhofe---well, who the hell knows about Inhofe? And I don't think a big infusion of federal aid money into the Oklahoma City area will shift things toward Obama. It's a conservative area and it will remain that way.

[calimary]

6. You should not have held your tongue, but you probably would speak with thoughtful, measured tones.

These people can think the way they do BECAUSE nobody else speaks out and sets the record straight. They think the way they do because they probably only get their "news" from Pox Noise and limbaugh and all his fucking selfish greedy CON clones. They think the way they do because they hear NOTHING from the opposing side or the opposing view - ie: REALITY. I think we NEED to speak out.

I've had arguments with two people who knee-jerkedly went straight to "Damn OBAMA! It's HIS fault!" And they get that because that's what they're exposed to in the media. Too many voices yelling and pushing THAT way, and virtually nothing in terms of pushback from OUR side, which has reality and truth and a few annoying things called FACTS on our side. I've had to talk them down from their seemingly firmly-held beliefs that it's all his fault, and NONE on the opposite side is at fault. FUCKING RIDICULOUS! And their reactions tell me that they haven't even HEARD about the evidence that I cite, or the statistics, or the - I hate to use that dirty word but here it is again - REALITY behind the situation. Benghazi, the AP, the IRS, the sequester, EVERYTHING. NO thought given to how we got here. When I told one friend about how the IRS independently, on its own, in 1959, changed the wording from EXCLUSIVELY to PRIMARILY, she hadn't even heard of this. OBVIOUSLY she'd only been watching Pox and CNN. And her response was - "interesting. Interesting." Yeah? Well, does that impact your opinion any? Probably not...

So it's okay to nickel-and-dime the seriously needy and devastated, whose needs are incredibly legitimate and utterly GLARING, because you have to stand by your stupid ideological budget "crisis" agenda - that YOU created in the first place while never letting the truth get in your way? And you still think you're Christians?????????

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. It happens right here on DU. We shouldn't be surprised at the "Blame Obama First" crown.

The political right AND the political left are both guilty of it.

Meanwhile, the Republicans and Teabaggers (and The Bush Crime Family) sit back and laugh--everyone's blaming the black guy. Hilarious!!

[Tx4obama]

3. Coburn's office said yesterday that he wants CUTS

Oklahoma Senator Won’t Support Tornado Relief Without Budget Cuts

The tornado that hit Oklahoma on Monday resulted in more than 90 deaths and is expected to cost the federal government untold billions of dollars in aid and recovery. But Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who has long objected to federal funds being spent on everything from veterans benefits to relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, is already insisting that any additional appropriations should be paid for with cuts elsewhere. “That’s always been his position ,” Coburn spokesman John Hart said. “He supported offsets to the bill funding the OKC bombing recovery effort.”

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022877304

AND

Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe, Tom Coburn, Face Difficult Options On Disaster Relief

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251307172

[Pragdem]

4. That's my Congressman. Typical Republican, but not batshit crazy. nt

[get the red out]

10. After the horrific Eastern, KY tornado last year

He at least had an appropriate response.

[AAO]

7. Checkmate!

[christx30]

8. If the pubbies stall aid

To these people because of budget offsets, you can pretty much close the book on republicans in Oklahoma. To leave those people to suffer because of stupid, petty budget crap is just sad. They want Obama to have a Katrina. Currently, the "dirt they have Obama is very esoteric. Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP thing seem shocking to the average (uninformed, or worst FoxNews informed) voter, but it doesn't really impact anyone's lives. A tornado erasing a town would impact people all over the country. Some friends of mine are 5 blocks from the tornado's path. I don't want any delay in getting them help because some out of touch assholes in Washington can't get their heads out of their asses. They are leaders. They need to friggin act like it.

[Bandit]

12. And what do you want to bet that even if they block funding unless there is an offset,

That all those people will vote them back in Office anyway.....and then blame Obama for their problems..

[wercal]

9. If the fund has $11 Billion, I don't think it will be used up

And the hard question will never have to be asked. The entire state's budget is $7 billion, so I can't see the disaster aid exceeding that...the bulk of disaster aid will go to pay overtime for emergency workers, and possibly grants to rebuild the schools.

The housing that was destroyed looked relatively new, which means in all likelyhood there were mortgages, which means they were insured. So, the vast majority of these will be rebuilt with insurance money. Even if the houses weren't insured, I'm still not sure the number of houses destroyed meets FEMA litmus tests for relief.

[Kolesar]

13. that was insightful eom

[rhett o rick]

15. I would be real surprised if the houses were insured against tornadoes. I think it would

be prohibitively expensive in tornado alley.

[wercal]

16. Houses are insured against tornados - almost guaranteed

BTW - I would guess that the largest payout insurance companies make in these region is for wind and hail, which is much more common....but they still insure for it.

The actuaries can predict with a fair degree of certainty how many houses will get hit with a tornado each year, and price their coverage accordingly. My policy certainly doesn't have a tornado exception....and I have never heard of that.

A few years ago, the same tornado tore through two towns - Chapman, KS and Manhattan, KS.

Chapman was an older community, where homes were built in the 40's, paid for by the 70's, and passed down to children and grandchildren, clear of a mortgage. Some enjoyed the mortgage free living so much, they dropped insurance over the years. When the tornado hit, all was lost, and the community was devastated. FEMA got involved, Extreme Home Makeover did an episode there, the whole ball of wax. Most could not afford to rebuild...some were trying to rebuild one paycheck at a time...it was a mess.

Manhattan, on the other hand, got hit in a brand new subdivision right next to where I lived. Almost everybody had insurance...and some of the good insurance even covered clean up costs and storage units for possessions. Two years after the storm, all but one house had been rebuilt. It had been my realtor's house...a really good guy and a good realtor. He probably owned his house outright...and didn't carry insurance....so his bare basement is all that is left.

[geek tragedy]

11. That takes care of that. nt

[SleeplessinSoCal]

17. It's almost a Catch 22 for these tea party peeps.

And nobody deserves it more in tornado ally / bible belt country.

[Skittles]

18. WARS should be offset

NOT NATURAL DISASTERS