House GOP to Shore: Drop Dead

Hurricane Sandy’s victims will have to wait just a little bit longer (or forever) for disaster relief, for no apparent reason. After the fiscal cliff bill finally passed late last night, one more order of business remained for the 112th House of Representatives before its term ended: a vote on the Senate’s $60.4 billion Sandy aid package. Despite assurance from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (no friend of disaster relief spending) that there would be a vote, Speaker John Boehner pulled the plug, meaning the bill is forever dead, and the new Congress will have to start over again when it reconvenes. No explanation was given. NY/NJ/PA congressmen on both sides of the aisle were livid, with Rep. Peter King (R-NY) calling the move “absolutely indefensible” and Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) accusing House leadership of having “failed the people of our state and region.” [Inquirer]