House GOP eyeing $1B disaster funds cut to finance wall

[RoosGirl]

   

President Donald Trump is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Harvey-caused epic flooding, but his Republican allies in the House are looking at cutting almost $1 billion from disaster accounts to help finance the president's border wall.

The pending reduction to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief account is part of a massive spending bill that the House is scheduled to consider next week when lawmakers return from their August recess. The $876 million cut, which is included in the 1,305-page measure's homeland security section, pays for roughly half the cost of Trump's down payment on the U.S.-Mexico border wall that the president repeatedly promised Mexico would finance.

It seems sure that GOP leaders will move to reverse it next week as floodwaters cover Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, and tens of thousands of Texans have sought refuge in shelters. There's only $2.3 billion remaining in federal disaster coffers.

   

The disaster relief cut was proposed well before Harvey and the politically bad optics are sure to lead lawmakers to do an about face, though that would create a money crunch in homeland security accounts.

The FEMA cut is the handiwork of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. — the major force behind a $50 billion-plus 2013 Superstorm Sandy recovery package — and Rep. John Carter, whose home state of Texas is suffering badly from Harvey.

"Circumstances have changed significantly since the bill was drafted earlier this summer," Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing said Wednesday. "Given the current situation, the committee is reassessing the issue."

Harvey aid is a fresh addition to an agenda already packed with must-do tasks and multiple legislative deadlines: Passing a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown; increasing the government's borrowing authority to prevent a market-quaking default on U.S. obligations; and paving the way for a GOP rewrite of the U.S. tax code.

Trump is slated to meet with congressional leaders next Wednesday. The meeting follows a recess that has seen Trump lambast several top Republicans, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., after the collapse of the GOP health care bill in his chamber. That has wounded the president's relationship with his own party, and the coming weeks should offer a test of how much clout he has with fellow Republicans.

Continued - http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/house-gop-eyeing-disaster-funds-cut-finance-wall/JZvwIIIPfM2Zad1xgcx0aJ/

[Oceander]

That'll fly well.

[RoosGirl]

Why do I get the idea this is GOP playing stupid games again?  Something along the lines of "Gosh, we wanted to fund the wall, but we needed to give that money to Houston."

[montanajoe]

Why do I get the idea this is GOP playing stupid games again?  Something along the lines of "Gosh, we wanted to fund the wall, but we needed to give that money to Houston."

Maybe because they are playing stupid games and they think the Rubes in flyover country will support them no matter what.....

[bigheadfred]

Why do I get the idea this is GOP playing stupid games again?  Something along the lines of "Gosh, we wanted to fund the wall, but we needed to give that money to Houston."

Problem, we have a Houston.

[RoosGirl]

And in the meantime they're planning on raising the debt limit anyway, so who cares, let's just buy the whole world.

[RoosGirl]

Problem, we have a Houston.

Hah, yep!  That's about right.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Just a thought.

We build a big secure wall, including along the southern border of TX. 

Then a big storm comes along.  How does the wall effect flooding?

[bigheadfred]

Just a thought.

We build a big secure wall, including along the southern border of TX. 

Then a big storm comes along.  How does the wall effect flooding?

Toss out thousands of life rings with the words "hogar dulce hogar" on them and at a precipitous moment open a couple of strategically placed gates. You solve two problems at the same time. Ya know? It all comes out in the wash.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

The GOP are bastards of this century if they cutoff the defense of this country's laws.

[Victoria33]

That'll fly well.

@Oceander

I just got an email from the Sheriff's Dept. in Conroe, Texas, Montgomery County, where I own property, and it says:

"For over an hour helicopter after helicopter landed at Conroe Regional Airport with mostly medical evacuees from the Golden Triangle Area. Twenty-four ambulances and two buses awaited their arrival and are transporting them to several locations north of Conroe which arrangements had been made for. We will have additional information shortly."

The golden triangle is Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange. 

There are no hospitals open in a huge area involved in this mega flood. It will take money and time before medical services anywhere in the area can function.  Infrastructure (roads/bridges) should get money first so teams of repair people can get around, then water infrastructure repaired, and food next, then medical services should be next. People cannot return home if there is no potable water and food available.  They can't go to work in oil refineries or any other job if there is no water and food available.

There has never been in modern times in this country, many hundreds of miles with basic services wiped out including the houses.

The US House of Representatives and the Senate should be required to fly over these hundreds of miles to see the devastation before they vote on money to help repair services so people can live again in these areas.

[corbe]

Toss out thousands of life rings with the words "hogar dulce hogar" on them and at a precipitous moment open a couple of strategically placed gates. You solve two problems at the same time. Ya know? It all comes out in the wash.

    We all know @Wingnut has the 'Douche Canoe' concession all sewn up.

[RetBobbyMI]

The US House of Representatives and the Senate should be required to fly over these hundreds of miles to see the devastation before they vote on money to help repair services so people can live again in these areas.

Does anyone really want these thieves in their backyard? They've already stole everything in your wallet and Savings accounts.

[anubias]

Just a thought.

We build a big secure wall, including along the southern border of TX. 

Then a big storm comes along.  How does the wall effect flooding?

Pic I received today from a guy in Guatemala.  See attached.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Applewood]

It's being reported that the damage estimate could be $160 billion. 

The wall can wait. 

[roamer_1]

Just a thought.

We build a big secure wall, including along the southern border of TX. 

Then a big storm comes along.  How does the wall effect flooding?

Not at all.

[libertybele]

Why do I get the idea this is GOP playing stupid games again?  Something along the lines of "Gosh, we wanted to fund the wall, but we needed to give that money to Houston."

BINGO!!!  Huston is such an opportunity for the despicables in Congress.

[Cripplecreek]

Well there's a limited amount of money.

[libertybele]

It's being reported that the damage estimate could be $160 billion. 

The wall can wait.

Huston is in dire straits and needs help and a ton of cash and I don't want to seem insensitive here; but I find it troubling that once again the American Red Cross doesn't know what portion of monies received are supposed to go to help out in TX.  Seriously?  Once again the organization has money pouring in and it's not being used for what it was intended.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/30/547435136/red-cross-exec-doesn-t-know-what-portion-of-donations-will-go-directly-to-harvey

[corbe]

  Why are yall discussing this woman?

[libertybele]

It's being reported that the damage estimate could be $160 billion. 

The wall can wait.

I disagree.  We need to start protecting our own and spending on our own.  The foreign give aways and various other projects can wait a year or two.

We need the wall sooner rather than later. Senator Cruz introduced the El Chapo Act which would bring in approximately ($14 billion), let that help pay for the wall.  Yes, $160 billion needed in Huston is a lot of money, immediately what comes to my mind is to take the monies that we give to foreign aid and spend it on Houston. Right now over $42 billion has been planned for foreign assistance.  If I am understanding the numbers correctly another $6 billion is spent on foreign military aid.  We spend roughly $20 billion on space exploration and another $26 billion on climate change, and there are  frivolous projects such as spending $15 million on the effectiveness of golf equipment in space - that's roughly $95 billion dollars right there that could be spent on Huston (I think we can forgo spending money on climate change for a year).  IMHO I think there's a whole lot of wasted money that could be given to Huston and the surrounding area. 

http://www.foreignassistance.gov/

https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=3107

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/nasa-budget-2016-mars-rover-europa-mission-planetary-science/420912/

http://www.climatedollars.org/full-study/us-govt-funding-of-climate-change/

[Frank Cannon]

  Why are yall discussing this woman?

@corbe because she used to be damn hot....

[Smokin Joe]

@Oceander

I just got an email from the Sheriff's Dept. in Conroe, Texas, Montgomery County, where I own property, and it says:

"For over an hour helicopter after helicopter landed at Conroe Regional Airport with mostly medical evacuees from the Golden Triangle Area. Twenty-four ambulances and two buses awaited their arrival and are transporting them to several locations north of Conroe which arrangements had been made for. We will have additional information shortly."

The golden triangle is Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange. 

There are no hospitals open in a huge area involved in this mega flood. It will take money and time before medical services anywhere in the area can function.  Infrastructure (roads/bridges) should get money first so teams of repair people can get around, then water infrastructure repaired, and food next, then medical services should be next. People cannot return home if there is no potable water and food available.  They can't go to work in oil refineries or any other job if there is no water and food available.

There has never been in modern times in this country, many hundreds of miles with basic services wiped out including the houses.

The US House of Representatives and the Senate should be required to fly over these hundreds of miles to see the devastation before they vote on money to help repair services so people can live again in these areas.

I seriously doubt that flying them over the area will do much good.

Those who have any clue what things are like on the ground already have a clue, the rest might as well be watching movies about Mars.
 
Nothing short of setting them down, without communication, with what they have in their pockets, with no priority on their repatriation (there are people who have been in a bind far longer who need to be rescued), in the middle of the stricken area, will get them to begin to understand what people are facing. My estimate is that would take at least 24 hours, and then there would still be some who would not get it.

Of course, that won't happen, and in the meantime, it's better to use those air assets for rescue/relief than to ferry around a bunch of perfumed SOBs who only care about their optics for reelection and bloody little else.

[Smokin Joe]

Well there's a limited amount of money.

The money is gone, we're talking credit, here.

A government that spends trillions can likely find enough to take care of both. If it means all other agencies except the Military have to take a cut to make the numbers work, that generally could be a step toward smaller government.

[Smokin Joe]

Huston is in dire straits and needs help and a ton of cash and I don't want to seem insensitive here; but I find it troubling that once again the American Red Cross doesn't know what portion of monies received are supposed to go to help out in TX.  Seriously?  Once again the organization has money pouring in and it's not being used for what it was intended.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/30/547435136/red-cross-exec-doesn-t-know-what-portion-of-donations-will-go-directly-to-harvey

Shades of 9/11...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-walden/the-red-cross-coming-home_b_7653.html
There are other incidents as well.