The House is poised to approve $9.7 billion to replenish the depleted National Flood Insurance Program today — the first phase of a massive $60 billion Sandy-aid package that comes two months after the hurricane struck and after last-minute delays caused by congressional infighting.
With nearly 140,000 Sandy-related flood insurance claims, most of which haven’t been fully paid, the national program will run out of funds by Monday unless the supplemental funding bill is approved.
House Speaker John Boehner had yanked the aid package from consideration Tuesday night, then suddenly re-introduced it yesterday amid a fury of criticism from fellow Republicans, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Rep. Peter King of Long Island.
Boehner set Jan. 15 as the date to vote on the remaining $51 billion in two additional bills to provide much-needed assistance to citizens, businesses and local governments.
So far, the flood-insurance fund has received 55,800 claims from New York homeowers and paid out about $956 million in settlements, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the insurance fund.
An estimated 305,000 housing units in New York were damaged or destroyed by the Oct. 29 storm.
Waiting for payments from the flood insurance fund has been agonizing for policyholders in New York and New Jersey.
“People are waiting to be paid,” said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, (R-NJ). “They’re sleeping in rented rooms on cots somewhere and they’re not happy.”
After the House vote, the Senate is expected to approve the funding bill later today and send it to President Obama.
“No one has informed us they will object,” said Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The aid package coming up for a vote in the House strips out some of the pork that had been slipped into the earlier Senate bill, including a $150 million grant for Alaska fisheries.
Despite a promise of the vote today, Gov. Cuomo remained skeptical.
“I’ve heard a lot of things, and until I see the cash, I reserve judgment,” he said. “Now they say a vote is going to happen in two weeks. I was told a vote was going to happen in 20 minutes, and it didn’t happen. So, I’ll wait for the actual results.”
Included in the second phase of disaster aid slated for a Jan. 15 vote is $5.4 billion for local transit agencies and $3.9 billion to rebuild hospitals, roads, utilities and small businesses. Another $5.4 billion will be provided to FEMA for grants to individuals and local governments.
Meanwhile two city council members sparred over the Sandy bill yesterday, after Republican Dan Halloran of Queens criticized it for containing too much pork.
“The media can play politics all they’d like with talk of that the GOP is blocking hurricane relief, but the sad truth is that the Senate bill presented was laden with 50+ percent of pork,” Halloran blasted in an email to his colleagues.
Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx) shot back, “I don’t approve of how things always seem to work in Washington but I’ll be dammed if we should stand by as the people we represent are literally left out in the cold.”
Additional reporting by S.A. Miller