Sandy aid bill heads to Obama's desk

Congress passes the $50.5 billion emergency relief measure 91 days after the storm hit the Northeast

Democrats and the president were ready to do it on day one. It was the Republicans who delayed it. Past their break and many Republicans VOTED AGAINST THE BILL EVEN AFTER IT WAS DONE SO LATE!

CLEAN HOUSE IN 2014! ALL REPUBLICANS MUST GO!

add tons of riders into the bill to try to sneak them past and I'd vote it down too. you don't need 30 other expenditures added in with a disaster relief bill.

I agree JeffT! You DO remember which party pushed for the line item veto don't you?

This is how politics are played unfortunately.

I'm all for a law that would make each bill a single issue bill. A line item veto is the next best thing.

The House passed a limited line item veto bill last year. But the Senate would not hear it.

So a country with no money spends money on things that they were supposed to be spending money on all along but didn't because they were spending that money on other things.

I agree that each bill should be a single item. No riders, no pork, no nothing. You wouldn't believe the health care items that have been pushed through SINCE the health care law was signed. Both sides do it, neither side should. Time to do away with both sides.

No budget? Go directly to jail.

Why do we need 50 Billion again? I can see spending some money to help haul away the junk before it becomes toxic. Those who bought insurance should cash that in. Those who elected not buy insurance in our free market place did so at will.

Does anybody wonder what the hell 50 Billion could possibly be spent upon?

Hiring nothing but UNION workers for the cleanup. Non-union VOLUNTEERS from the South showed up to help and were turned away from New Jersey and New York because they weren't union members. If they wanted to help for FREE what does it matter? Proves that politics trumps charity, I guess.....

Yes we remember which party enacted the line item veto. It 1996 was under President Clinton, whom I believe was a Democrat, that the illegal legislation passed. After its short life, the US Supreme Court declared it unconstitional. Imagine that!

And quit rebuilding the beaches. Allow nature to do its thing.

For example, such “emergency” Sandy funding includes $2 million for roof repairs at the Smithsonian in Washington, $4 million for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and $16 billion that can be used in 47 states for past and future events from 2011 through 2013.

There’s $10 million to buy the FBI new vehicles when it already has plenty of vehicles to re-purpose and $50 million in un-requested funds for the National Park Service.

The bill also provides $1.7 billion in highway spending that is not restricted to Sandy-impacted states and may be used for the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This kind of spending should be carefully considered on the merits and paid for – not stuffed into emergency legislation to help Sandy disaster victims.

When total Sandy spending is added up, it’s more than the annual budget for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. And it’s more than twice the annual budget of the U.S. Energy Department.

Under the measure that passed, only 7 percent of funds – about $3.6 billion – would be spent over the next nine months. Seventy percent of the funding wouldn’t be spent until 2015 and beyond.

So really, we need 50 billion for what again? Are we going to give it to corporations again? Insurance companies? Energy companies? Transportation corporations? This isn't food and water folks.

Good post(s) zen, thanks for opening my eyes.