Recently it seems like Frank Lautenberg really likes to talk, which always surprises me coming from a guy who
avoids public appearances and debates like the plague when he is up for reelection.
Anyway, he was at it again today Save Jerseyans. Lauty was posing for the cameras in front of Little Falls Municipal Hall today, a town that was hit very hard by Hurricane Irene and is currently experiencing record floods in the aftermath.
Lautenberg, of course, had nothing to do with the evacuation effort led by Governor Christie and local officials that likely saved lives and valuables of many people in the area. But he wants to help now thats its all done!
Lautenberg is upset because FEMA’s reserve fund for disasters is currently hovering somewhere around $1 billion. The fund has been a bit neglected since the mismanagement of reimbursements after Hurricane Katrina, but with reason. No one trusts FEMA to do anything right!
Lauty wants to pump somewhere between $5 billion and $9 billion into the fund to pay for the aftermath of Irene, and is calling on Governor Christie to declare New Jersey a disaster zone so that places like Little Falls can have access to that cash. All well and good, but there is one little problem. The federal government has no money!
Thankfully, the House Republicans are one step ahead of Senator Lautenberg. Before the recess the House passed a bill that would cut current spending dollar for dollar to match an increase in FEMA funding for events just like Hurricane Irene. This would be the sensible thing to do, but of course in the current political climate, where the adults only control one-half-of-one-third of Washington, its not so simple.
The Senate has not acted on the bill, Senator Reid did not put it up for a vote. Senator Lautenberg dismissed the measure as “politics” rather than a sensible way to spend money and prioritize to help the hundreds of thousands of American families affected by this storm. Unfortunately, without some pressure from the White House, I don’t expect the Senate to come back and pass this any time soon. The Democrats would rather China finance our disaster relief!
Since that is all a non-starter, I think I have a better solution. It is well known that Senator Lautenberg is one of the most wealthy members of the United States Congress. I think it would be a wonderful gesture of good faith, and would show that he really cared, if he made a generous seven or eight figure donation to the FEMA disaster relief fund.
I know it would not be much in relation to what the fund “needs,” but think of the symbolism; think of the thousands of families in New Jersey who could get the relief they need! While he is at it, Lauty could call up that other self-hating rich guy, Warren Buffett, and ask him to throw in a few billion and really make an impact.
These guys spend all of their time rolling in the dough, and then preaching about how the rich should be compelled to pay more, well I think it is time they put their money where their big mouths are and actually make a difference. If nothing else, a move like this would ensure that Lautenberg never lost an election for as long as he lives.
Wait…on second thought maybe this isn’t such a good idea…
"No one trusts FEMA to do anything right!"
I'm trying to come up with a polite way to say that you are dumber than a box of rocks. No one? Do you have any proof of that?