Senate Democrats Tie Romney Gulf Coast Visit to Ryan’s Proposed Cuts to Disaster Relief

Source: firedoglake

The only real notable element of Mitt Romney’s post-convention performance today was that he accidentally referred to the United States as a company, i.e. a person. But in anticipation of his visit to the Gulf Coast for some photo-ops with victims of Hurricane Isaac, Senate Democrats are using unusual vigor to hold House Republicans, mainly Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan, accountable for the near-denial of disaster relief funds that will be put to use in the aftermath of the storm.

The story goes back to the debt limit deal. That set a spending cap for future budgets with a hard-dollar number. However, it allowed for some flexibility for disaster relief, where the federal government could go above the cap. But even after agreeing to the deal, House Republicans, led by Ryan, wanted to block that, which would have forced unpredictable disaster relief funding to get offsets in the federal budget. This really came to a head last fall, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency nearly depleted its budget before the year was out, which would have forced a supplemental funding bill. The Office of Management and Budget somehow found enough funds to carry through the end of the year, and Republicans reluctantly went along with the flexible cap for disaster relief. But some, including Ryan, did not:



"It had been a different story earlier in the year as the government’s chief disaster fund almost ran dry, thanks to foot-dragging by the White House and demands by tea party House Republicans that disaster aid be partly “paid for” with cuts to programs that Obama favored. The administration instead let the political pressure build as disaster accounts dwindled, sparking the ire of both his GOP rivals and allies like Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., but turning the tables in its favor.

Months after agreeing to the new regime, Republican leaders still had to turn to procedural maneuvers to orchestrate passage of $8.8 billion in disaster money in keeping with the agreement. Ryan, the House Budget Committee’s chairman, was among 66 Republicans opposing the measure "


Read more: http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/08/31/senate-democrats-tie-romney-gulf-coast-visit-to-ryans-cuts-to-disaster-relief/

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