Metro

Mayor says Congress should question $60B request for Sandy funds

The federal government’s sloppy handling of the recovery after Hurricane Katrina is weighing on legislators trying to figure out how much aid New York should get following superstorm Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg said today.

“Almost every person I talked to in Washington mentioned that — not everyone, almost everyone,” the mayor said on his weekly WOR radio show.

As a result, Bloomberg suggested those pressing Congress to instantly send $60 billion to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are making a mistake.

“Some people said give it to me right away,” the mayor said.

“If they did that I’m not so sure we as Americans would be happy. You would think they would want to ask questions before they give away the public’s money. You’d think they’d want to put it in context of lots of needs when we don’t have money for everything we want to do.”

Bloomberg also pointed out that the economy was booming in 2005, when Katrina struck.

“Today, it’s very different in Washington,” he said.

Top CEOs joined the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut yesterday to ask Washington to approve the Sandy aid package requested by President Obama.

Mayoral aides said Bloomberg was reacting to a newspaper column demanding immediate payment, not the letter from the execs and CEOs.

Marc LaVorgna, the mayor’s spokesman, said Bloomberg is on the same page and hasn’t changed his position that Congress must act this session.

“He said it’s reasonable for Congress to ask us some questions before writing us a check,” LaVorgna said. “I don’t think any of our partners disagree with that.”

Bloomberg’s reading of the climate in Washington has led him to adopt a unique position — as a watchdog over not only the city’s money but also the federal government’s.

He said the aid requested by the city was based on need and not what it thought it could get.

“This is not a trough you can just feed on,” he concluded. “We’re citizens of America. We should only ask for things that are legit…We should be acting as adults and treating Congress as adults and I think that’s the way you get the most.”