Cantor Says Congress Won't Pay For Missouri Disaster Relief Unless Spending Is Cut Elsewhere

Cantor Says Congress Won’t Pay For Missouri Disaster Relief Unless Spending Is Cut Elsewhere

Politics • May 2011 • Views: 1,361

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), however, said that before Congress approved federal funds for disaster relief, it had to offset the spending with cuts to other programs. The Washington Times reports:

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday that if Congress passes an emergency spending bill to help Missouri’s tornado victims, the extra money will have to be cut from somewhere else.

“If there is support for a supplemental, it would be accompanied by support for having pay-fors to that supplemental,” Mr. Cantor, Virginia Republican, told reporters at the Capitol. The term “pay-fors” is used by lawmakers to signal cuts or tax increases used to pay for new spending.

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14 comments

andres Tue, May 24, 2011 12:42:00pm

This is the dickiest move in this week. I can’t believe that Cantor has the balls to play politics with a natural disaster. This is a time to throw all our help, politics be damned.

nines09 Tue, May 24, 2011 2:42:39pm

Dear Joplin Missouri. F you. Your Friend and fellow American, Republican Eric Cantor. Wonder if the story would be different if it was Virginia?

Lidane Tue, May 24, 2011 2:54:22pm

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday that if Congress passes an emergency spending bill to help Missouri’s tornado victims, the extra money will have to be cut from somewhere else.

Fine. Pick a war/corporate subsidy/tax loophole/wasteful defense contract and end it.

andres Tue, May 24, 2011 3:25:46pm

re: #3 Lidane

Fine. Pick a war/corporate subsidy/tax loophole/wasteful defense contract and end it.

Politics be damn! Get the help to Missouri, and we’ll figure out how to pay later.

elizajane Tue, May 24, 2011 4:10:48pm

Eric Cantor represents Virginia. I guess there are never any natural disasters there, because hey, he would NEVER ask for help for his constituents in such a case. Right?

2003: Hurricane Isabel. 36 deaths, $2 billion damage in Virginia alone.

1993: Tornado outbreak. 4 dead, 246 injured.

1972: Hurricane Agnes. 19 dead in Virginia alone, many more elsewhere.

1959: tornado outbreak. 11 dead, 9 injured

1954: Hurricane Hazel. No state-by-state breakdown but over 1000 fatalities & 3.4 billion damage in modern dollars.

1933: Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane. 30 dead, half a million in damages (modern dollars).

1929: Rye Cove Tornado outbreak. 13 dead, 100 injured

JamesWI Tue, May 24, 2011 5:01:26pm

Way to go, Cantor. I’m sure that in the next election, Missouri Democrats aren’t going to talk about how the Republicans in Washington wanted to hold the emergency disaster money hostage to play more political games.

What a winning strategy they have. I haven’t seen a strategy this brilliant since Newt Gingrich shutting down the government! How’d that work out for the Repubs?……Oh, wait a minute…

Mostly sane, most of the time. Tue, May 24, 2011 5:12:48pm

Ooh, ooh, wait. I know. How about we slash congressional pensions in half?

It’s the thought that counts.

BishopX Tue, May 24, 2011 5:56:58pm

You know, I’d be fine with a one time tax to finance relief efforts for this kind of thing. But demanding spending cuts to unrelated programs as the price for aid is beyond the pale. In situations like this some is going to be borrowing the money, and the government can get much better terms than the people whose homes and jobs have been destroyed.

moderatelyradicalliberal Tue, May 24, 2011 8:09:20pm

Fine, we can start with getting rid of oil subsidies to pay for disaster relief. The GOP has lost it’s mind an is determined to offend and give the middle finger to everyone who isn’t rich. Even, places like Joplin that vote GOP.

funky chicken Tue, May 24, 2011 8:55:08pm

re: #7 EmmmieG

Ooh, ooh, wait. I know. How about we slash congressional pensions in half?

It’s the thought that counts.

We could shut down their fancy medical offices in the Capitol Building complex. Let them figure out who takes their insurance, wait in the ER, and file paperwork for reimbursement like the rest of us.

And cut their ridiculous pensions.

funky chicken Tue, May 24, 2011 8:57:26pm

re: #3 Lidane

Fine. Pick a war/corporate subsidy/tax loophole/wasteful defense contract and end it.

Or—gasp—end the tax cuts for the super-wealthy. Let the repubs go on TV saying tax cuts for millionaires are more important than disaster relief. The weekend news shows could become must-see TV again.

cat-tikvah Tue, May 24, 2011 9:20:55pm

Why not tell him directly? I did!

cantor.house.gov

terraincognita Wed, May 25, 2011 5:09:37am

It boils down to the depravity of negotiating the cost of assistance over the bodies of the dead and wounded victims of these natural disasters that is especially compelling. How can Cantor look himself in the mirror in the morning. He makes the crass Ayn Rand look like the mystical Dalai Lama.