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Blog
Legislative Update from Washington
Washington,
June 4, 2019
This was not an easy vote, but it was the right one. Yesterday, I joined 57 of my Republican colleagues in the House in voting against H.R. 2157, which would have appropriated up to $19.1 billion for “disaster relief” (remember that phrase) for areas of our country hit by recent natural disasters. There were two major issues with this legislation that made it impossible for me to support. First, if we’re talking about “disaster relief”, then we’re talking about immediate and urgent needs, where time is of the essence. Yet according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), less than 30% of these funds would be spent immediately, during this fiscal year. The remaining 70% would be spent way down the line, from 2020 through 2029. For example, the CBO estimates $4.4 billion from this bill being spent in 2020, $2.6 billion in 2021, $1.9 billion in 2022, etc. Four years from now, this legislation would put $464 million into something known as the “Community Development Fund.” Five years from now, $119 million into energy and water projects. The list goes on. Folks, this is not “disaster relief” spending. If it were, the outlays would all be in the very near future, not years down the road. Much of this of this appears to be taking advantage of the situation to fund projects that should be more carefully vetted through the traditional budget process. And second, none of this $19.1 billion in spending is offset. In other words, there are no reductions in our federal budget anywhere to pay for this. So what does that mean? You guessed it: another $19.1 billion added to our national debt. Don’t get be wrong: there are some very important and urgent issues that can (and should) be addressed through legitimate disaster relief funding. But this is not the way. Those who need relief, as well as those footing the bill, deserve better. Bill details: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2157 CBO estimates by year: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-04/hr2157_0.pdf |