Congressional Republicans are insisting that money to rebuild communities hit by Hurricane Irene and earlier disasters like the tornadoes in Joplin and Tuscaloosa be offset by even further cuts to Federal spending. Democrats believe that the disaster money should be automatically restored as has been done by majorities of both parties in the past. There are only ten days to resolve the issue and restore the funding or the Federal Government will be shut down. Haven’t we been here before? Republicans are holding us hostage again.
Roy and I are in Omaha, Nebraska tonight. Omaha spent $15 million fighting floods on the Missouri River last year. The $15 million in sandbagging and levee strengthening saved FEMA a billion dollars in claims, according to the Omaha mayor. They haven’t been reimbursed, and they won’t be reimbursed until this issue is resolved. How about instead of bickering over where the Federal Government will get the money, why don’t we just recognize that the citizens of Omaha saved the Federal Government a Billion and now, we should pitch in to help out the citizens of Omaha and other communities hit by disasters. For pity’s sake---let’s help out these people and quit politicking about the source of the money.
Guest posting by Linda.
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