. Energy News .




.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
After Irene, a US political storm brews over disaster aid
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Aug 31, 2011

In a prelude to ugly autumn budget fights, the White House and its Republican foes battled Wednesday over whether disaster relief for Hurricane Irene's victims must be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.

The feud, the latest in a running US political war over the role of government, flared up even as both sides agreed it was too early to set a price tag on rebuilding in the wake of the powerful storm and a preceding earthquake.

The dispute arose after Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that disaster relief money should flow but be paid for with cuts to other programs with cash-strapped Washington's debt now eclipsing $14.3 trillion.

"In instances like this, yes, there's a federal role, yes, we're going to find the money. We're just going to need to make sure that there are savings elsewhere to continue to do so," Cantor told Fox News Channel on Monday.

His remarks drew a sharp response from the White House a day later, with spokesman Jay Carney saying the government's "priority has to be responding to the disaster and then helping those regions and states recover."

"I wish that commitment to looking for offsets had been held by the House majority leader and others, say, during the previous administration when they ran up unprecedented bills and never paid for them," he added.

Carney's words echoed a common Democratic complaint that Republicans added trillions to the government's budget deficits when they held the White House under President Barack Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, then became tight-fisted once the Democrat took office.

At the same time, the spokesman insisted Obama was "very committed to fiscal discipline, and obviously we applaud those who are committed also" and said it was "premature" to put a dollar figure on the amount of relief needed.

"If emergency funding is requested by the president, surely the House will respond appropriately at that time," said Cantor spokeswoman Laena Fallon, who noted "we can't respond to an emergency request that doesn't yet exist."

Fallon said House Republicans would "find ways to pay for what is needed or to find offsets whenever possible" because "that is the responsible thing to do" but stressed that Cantor had said the aid would flow.

In fact, the Republican-led House has already approved annual funding legislation to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) contingency fund, which dipped to below $1 billion earlier this year.

The Democratic-held Senate has yet to act on that measure, in which additional dollars for disaster aid were offset by cuts elsewhere.

Federal officials have joined governors of states hit by the earthquake and Hurricane Irene to survey the damage and draw up estimates of how much aid is needed.

A leading risk-assessment firm, Eqecat, said Wednesday that the storm had caused more than $10 billion in total damages to the United States as it swept across the country's east coast.

The feud foreshadowed coming Washington wars over spending in the next few months, including a catch-all measure to fund the US government through the 2012 fiscal year that begins October 1 and a drive to find more than one trillion dollars in deficit cuts over the next ten years.




Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



DISASTER MANAGEMENT
US rescues thousands stranded by Irene
Wilmington, Vermont (AFP) Aug 30, 2011
US rescuers battled Tuesday to reach thousands cut off by flooding in towns across Vermont, New Jersey and upstate New York as the death toll from Hurricane Irene climbed towards 50. Emergency provisions had to be airlifted in to dozens of communities stranded by floodwaters as unprecedented weekend rains dumped by the massive storm system washed away roads and sent rivers cascading over the ... read more


DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Uncertain trends mar Argentine energy plan

Japan to lift power-saving decree earlier than planned

Kyoto team suspends Romania from carbon market

Romanian official quits after carbon market suspension

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Shale gas could make S.African energy self-sufficient: Shell

China, Vietnam plan defence hotline: report

Manufacturing method paves way for commercially viable quantum dot-based LEDs

CO2 oilfield experiment has good results

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
First market report on High Altitude Wind Energy

Researchers build a tougher, lighter wind turbine blade

Wind Power Now Less Expensive Than Natural Gas In Brazil

BMW to power Leipzig factory by wind energy

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
First Nation Deploys Solar-Powered Airfield Lights

Enecsys shows micro inverters that double operating life of solar PV systems

Solar panels supply energy for CSULA's Engineering and Technology building

CH2M HILL Introduces New PV Economic Development Report

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China's nuclear power risky?

Sporian Developing Sensors for Generation IV Nuclear Systems

Argentina keen for more nuclear power

Japan nuclear no-go areas to last 'decades': media

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Biofuels Make a Comeback Despite Tough Economy

Farming commercial miscanthus

Cracking cellulose: a step into the biofuels future

Pretreatment, proper harvest time boost ethanol from switchgrass

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Chang'e-2 moon orbiter travels around L2 in outer space

China State media says Tiangong 1 to launch in early Sept

Orbits for Tiangong

Chinese orbiter launch failure will not affect unmanned space module launch

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Cutting soot emissions fastest and cheapest to slow global warming

Huge migration impedes Somali children education: UNICEF

Bedrock nitrogen may help forests buffer climate change

Starving Somalis make new life in war-torn Mogadishu


Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News
.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement