Bill Description

Billed as "emergency spending" intended for Hurricane Sandy relief, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 costs $50 billion and includes numerous appropriations for projects unrelated to Sandy relief. Much of the budgeted spending is not intended to be spent until later years and does not fall within the definition of emergency spending.

Liberty for All's Position

It is irresponsible and morally wrong to politicize the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy to shoehorn spending for other projects. It is wrong to add to the deficit under the guise of an emergency in order to take resources from hardworking families and transfer them to unaccountable contractors and bureaucrats. The bill provides more than was requested by numerous agencies and is fiscally irresponsible at a time we should be tightening our belts, not gorging ourselves on more pork barrel spending.