Rokita Calls for Responsible Relief Efforts

Statement

Congressman Todd Rokita released the following statement regarding funding for Hurricane Harvey relief.

"Americans expect their federal government to be there in times of national crisis. While I strongly disagree with the process, I voted to give Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) additional funding to deal with the disaster relief in Texas and Louisiana, and lay the groundwork for a response for a potentially devastating hurricane strike in Florida and up the east coast. It is easy enough to pay for this $7.85 billion dollars and in fact I prepared an amendment that would have paid for this emergency relief without running up the tab for our children and grandchildren. Neither that amendment, nor any other amendment, was allowed to be heard. This isn't the responsible way to govern. We need to find a way to pay for this disaster relief."

Washington doesn't want to solve its spending problem. There are many ways that funding could have been freed up, including an amendment Rep. Rokita authored. This amendment would reduce discretionary spending by 0.74 percent to create the $7.8 billion needed for current relief efforts.

Source