As Hurricane Sandy Approaches, Republicans Voted Repeatedly To Slash Disaster Relief Funds
All politics has consequences
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The right has made a religion out of bashing the federal government’s ability to help ordinary people and make America prosperous. But the oncoming “Frankenstorm” Hurricane Sandyshows that the ability for the government to have the funding it needs to tackle challenges like a major natural disaster is crucial.
Americans who live in the northeast of all political stripes are bracing for the storm’s impact, but it was one political party in particular who decided to repeatedly threaten the government’s ability to respond to hurricanes.
In March 2011, the House Republicans passed a continuing resolution that included a cut of $450.3 million to the NOAA as compared to President Obama’s requested budget. It also cut the National Weather Service by $126 million and reduced “funding for FEMA management by $24.3 million off of the FY2010 budget, and [reduced] that appropriation by $783.3 million for FEMA state and local programs.” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) also famously threatened to delay disaster relief for Hurricane Irene until certain budget cuts were put in place.
Read more: http://boldprogressives.org/as-hurricane-sandy-approaches-republicans-voted-repeatedly-to-slash-disaster-relief-funds/
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