WASHINGTON — Northeastern Republicans, long outnumbered and overshadowed in their own party nationally, erupted in fury on Wednesday after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives blocked a measure that sought to provide billions of dollars in aid to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and other states pummeled by Hurricane Sandy.
The depth of the anger was extraordinary and exceedingly personal, with one Republican after another venting their outrage at one man in particular, Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, who quietly moved to keep the bill from coming to the floor early Wednesday morning after a raucous marathon session on fiscal issues.
Representative Michael G. Grimm, a Republican whose Staten Island district was among the hardest hit, threatened not to vote for Boehner in the election for speaker this week. Representative Peter T. King, a Long Island Republican whose constituents also suffered huge losses in the storm, urged New York’s well-heeled donor community not to contribute to Boehner’s Republican majority.
The anger that surfaced Wednesday seemed to come as a bit of a shock to Boehner, who quickly sought to contain any political fallout. After meeting with Republican lawmakers from the storm-battered region, Boehner pledged to bring a $9 billion relief package to the floor on Friday and a $51 billion package on Jan 15.
‘‘Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress,’’ Boehner said in a statement that he released with Representative Eric Cantor, the Republican majority leader in the House. ‘‘That was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations.’’
But it was unclear whether Boehner could undo the damage he had done.
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2016, said Boehner had refused to take his calls on Tuesday night and accused the House leadership of duplicity and selfishness, saying the inaction ‘‘is why the American people hate Congress.’’
After finally getting through to Boehner on Wednesday morning, Christie expressed doubt in the speaker’s word in his characteristically blunt way.
‘‘I’m not going to get into the specifics of what I discussed with John Boehner today,’’ he told reporters in New Jersey. ‘‘But what I will tell you is there is no reason at the moment for me to believe anything they tell me.’’
King later struck a more conciliatory note. ‘‘This procedure that is laid out is fully acceptable’’ he said, reacting to the schedule presented by Boehner. ‘‘Fact is, we are getting what New York and New Jersey needs.’’
Grimm seemed mollified as well, saying he would support the speaker after all.
As much as the outcry spoke of the extraordinary dissension within the Republican ranks, it also underscored another political reality: the relative lack of clout that Northeastern states like New York have in the House of Representatives, a chamber dominated by conservatives from the South and Midwest.
Last week, a $60.4 billion aid package was passed in the Democratic-led Senate, far friendlier political terrain for the region, where Charles E. Schumer, New York’s senior senator, is part of the leadership and helped push the package through. Top House Republicans had indicated that they were moving toward a vote on the package Tuesday night.
But Boehner had angered many leading conservatives in his caucus by bringing to the floor a Senate-approved tax bill that did not contain sufficient spending cuts to bring the nation’s debt under control. After that bill passed in the House, with significant Democratic support, he was in no mood to further alienate conservatives in his caucus by forcing them to vote on a disaster aid bill that would add to the deficit on the eve of a vote on whether to continue his speakership.
Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, suggested that the aid request was harmed by its size.
“Sometimes when you ask for too much, you don’t get anything,’’ Blunt told CNN.
As the anger over the House’s decision not to hold a vote on the storm aid measure intensified, President Obama called Christie and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York on Wednesday and issued a statement calling for an immediate vote in the House.
“When tragedy strikes, Americans come together to support those in need,’’ Obama said.
Cuomo told reporters Wednesday that House Republicans had ‘‘reneged on their word.’’
‘‘I believe it was a dereliction of duty,’’ Cuomo said. ‘‘To leave New York and New Jersey and thousands of people in this holiday season on their own and abandoned was wrong, and disgraceful in a lot of ways.’’
The depth of the anger was extraordinary and exceedingly personal, with one Republican after another venting their outrage at one man in particular, Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, who quietly moved to keep the bill from coming to the floor early Wednesday morning after a raucous marathon session on fiscal issues.
Comments
It's a republican thing: "I got mine, screw vou."
It was primarily Democratic Senators that added so much pork to the emergency relief bill that it became toxic to responsible congress people.
Boehner needs to stand firm and cut the funds substantially. This is taxpayers money and needs to be repaid. The victims are asking for free money with no pay back. This is outrageous - there is no mention of any income or asset eligibility criteria or insurance coverage It is up to homeowners to have insurance and savings to cover losses - no one demanded that they live on the beach. Only low interest loans should be allowed. last i checked the government did not create the hurricane so it is not liable for the damages. Everybody feels bad for the victims but take your anger out on whoever created the storm. It's amazing the number of freeloaders we have.
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The amount of pork added to this bill, led by NY Senators is an insult to the victims of Sandy and to all Americans. It is irresponsible of the Globe to run this story without including details of the pork so that readers can understand that Boehner and other Republicans had reasons to shelve it despite wanting to help the victims of Sandy. What in the world can $150,000,000 for protecting Alaskan fisheries have to do with Sandy relief? Why should we fund restoring D.C. museums as part of an emergency relief bill for NY and NJ?
When have Republican's been above Pork when it suited them?
Surely you don't expect the Globe editors to include any of the details of the pork packed into the Sandy Relief Bill by the good people elected to serve in Washington and represent their states?
Remember the "Golden Rule?" The fellow with the gold _ makes the rules.
The fellow who makes the rules in Washington is in Hawaii . . .someone, please tell Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey that his new best-friend is on vacation. Aloha!
The depth of the anger was extraordinary and exceedingly personal, with one Republican after another venting their outrage at one man in particular, Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, who quietly moved to keep the bill from coming to the floor early Wednesday morning after a raucous marathon session on fiscal issues." These sentences indicate that the Globe is always more interested in portraying Republicans as fighting among each other rather than telling an honest story.
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