This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 16, 2011 - WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to approve $6.9 billion to replenish the nation's nearly depleted disaster aid account and fund other emergency programs so that areas struck by flood, tornadoes and severe storms this year would be assured of continued federal support.
With Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and several other Republicans voting with the Democratic majority, the Senate turned back a possible filibuster and approved the disaster aid bill by a vote of 62 to 37. That vote came after senators rejected two Republican amendments to pay for the extra disaster aid by deleting funding elsewhere in the federal budget.
"The amounts of money in the bill are clearly going to be the kind of dollars that will be required for FEMA to meet its obligations and -- just as importantly for Missouri -- for the Corps of Engineers to meet their obligations for flood control and river management," Blunt told reporters. He said the funding should allow FEMA to continue its longer-term efforts to help Joplin recover from this spring's devastating tornado.
The Senate set up a possible struggle with the Republican-led House, which is taking a different approach by developing a plan to provide $3.7 billion in disaster aid and offset that extra money with spending cuts elsewhere. The House disaster-aid provision is attached to a bill needed to avert a government shutdown because lawmakers have not completed the appropriations process for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.
The Senate disaster funding was strongly backed by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. In a statement, McCaskill said, "The people of Joplin, northwest Missouri, southeast Missouri and St. Louis -- all of whom have suffered from extreme weather events this year -- deserve to know that FEMA is going to live up to its obligations and the commitments it has made."
Durbin, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, gave a speech earlier this week urging approval of the bill because "we cannot hold hostage this desperately needed relief because of a partisan debate here in Washington."
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., was among the Republicans who voted against the bill. Most opponents objected that -- at a time of severe budget deficits -- there were no "offsets" to identify other spending that would be cut to make room for the extra disaster assistance.
This year, there have been an unusually high number of declared disasters -- with the related expenses forcing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to shift into an "immediate needs" mode to make emergency funds available to East Coast states struck last month by Hurricane Irene. Missouri's U.S. senators cried foul, complaining that FEMA's shift would slow down some disaster recovery and rebuilding projects in Joplin and elsewhere.
A behind-the-scenes deal between the Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders cleared the way for Thursday's vote on the disaster aid. Under the agreement, votes were allowed on an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Ok., that would have offset the disaster funding by cutting about $7 billion by consolidating duplicative and overlapping government programs. Blunt backed that amendment, which got a majority but fell short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Another failed amendment, offered by tea party backed Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., would have offset the spending by deeply cutting funds for foreign aid programs.
Unhappy that opponents had tried to hold up the disaster funding, McCaskill said in a statement. "It's been a brutal year for these kinds of disasters, and politicians should not use political games as an excuse to shirk our responsibility to the people who have suffered through no fault of their own."
For his part, Durbin said that the supplemental funding was badly needed in areas of Illinois that had been struck by severe flooding and storms this year.
"In Illinois, thousands of people from Chicago to Cairo are making repairs to their homes and businesses after a blizzard and two major flooding events inundated the state this year," Durbin said. While waiting for a supplemental appropriations bill to be passed by Congress, FEMA has frozen some disaster relief funding to pay for the "immediate needs" of disaster-stricken communities.
"If the money is frozen, it means that many of the repairs being made to recover from flooding and storms in April and May will not be reimbursed," said Durbin. "Metropolis, Ill., for instance, will not be reimbursed for flood damage to the Girl Scout building there. The city of Carmi will not be reimbursed for wind damage to the roof of its public works garage. We need to provide FEMA with the funds it needs to ensure that all federal disaster requests are met."
After voting to provide emergency resources to address the needs of communities, affected by natural disasters, McCaskill said in a statement:
"This is welcome news for families in Joplin and communities affected by this year's record flooding. I've promised all the families, farmers, and business owners affected by these disasters that we're sticking by them for the long haul -- that's what this is about. We've made sure that FEMA will live up to its obligations and the commitments that it has made."
It was unclear Thursday whether the Senate vote will spur a confrontation with the House over disaster relief. The $3.65 billion in disaster relief funds in the House bill includes $1 billion that would be available immediately to cover pending needs and $2.65 billion for the fiscal year that starts next month. Of the immediate dollars, $226 million would be earmarked for the Army Corps of Engineers flood control efforts and $776 million to replenish FEMA's emergency relief fund, which is nearly depleted.