Despite finding the time to approve a massive tax cut for America’s biggest corporations and wealthiest individuals, the Republican Senate admitted on Thursday that an already-delayed disaster relief bill will have to be put off until next year.
The House approved the legislation on Thursday after the states affected by these disasters urged them to do so. But according to The Hill, Senate lawmakers “appear unable to reach a deal to speed up consideration of the legislation.”
More from the report:
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), whose state was hit by Hurricane Harvey earlier this year, said lawmakers didn’t “have enough time” to pass the bill with Congress expected to wrap up their work for the year on Thursday.
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“We have to go through the whole process absent unanimous consent. It would take us a week,” he told reporters on Thursday.
He added, “I don’t think we have enough time to vote on disaster aid.”
As the report notes, it is often conservatives who delay or kill such relief bills because of the cost. Yet, this week these same right-wing politicians voted in favor of a tax giveaway that will blow a $1.5 trillion hole in the national debt.
The relief bill they refuse to vote on before the holiday recess is a tiny fraction of that cost, providing $81 billion in aid for various recent natural disasters, including hurricanes in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and the wildfires ravaging California.
So it appears Republican senators will head home for a long holiday break proud of the tax relief they passed for their donors, while those still recovering from deadly natural disasters see no relief at all.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
