Don't hold Irene aid hostage
Damage to the Walter Elwood Museum at Guy Park Manor in Amsterdam, N.Y., after the Mohawk River overflowed in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene (Sept. 15, 2011) Credit: AP
Congress shouldn't allow disaster aid for people devastated by Tropical Storm Irene to be stalled by a fight over how much is enough and how to cover the tab.
Deficit reduction is important, but that imperative isn't as immediate as getting aid to people in places, such as New York, where the need has already outstripped the cash available. Unless Congress approves more funding, things will quickly get worse. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will run out of money Tuesday.
The Senate approved $6.9 billion in disaster aid last week. But a House bill that linked $3.7 billion for FEMA with broader spending to prevent an Oct. 1 government shutdown suffered a surprising defeat Wednesday. It was done in by tea party Republicans, who said $3.7 billion was too much, and some Democrats who said it was too little and didn't like taking the money from a loan program to build fuel-efficient vehicles.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has to find a compromise that can attract a critical mass of bipartisan support. Spending cuts to offset the aid provided through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 can be found later, perhaps by the congressional supercommittee looking at long-term deficit reduction.
What's critical right now is keeping the aid flowing. hN
