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Conservatives chip away at $50b Sandy aid package

By Associated Press
Published January 14, 2013 5:00am ET
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Conservatives chip away at $50b Sandy aid package
FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2013, file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, accompanied by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y, enter a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, to discuss Superstorm Sandy aid. Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that Northeastern governors and lawmakers hope to push through the House the week of Jan. 14, 2013. Their complaint is that lots of that money actually will go toward recovery efforts for past disasters and other projects unrelated to the late-October storm. The measure bill includes $150 million for what the Commerce Department described as fisheries disasters in Alaska, Mississippi and the Northeast, and $50 million in subsidies for replanting trees on private land damaged by wildfires. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) | Jacquelyn Martin

WASHINGTON (AP) — House conservatives opposed to more deficit spending tried Monday to chip away at the $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package by requiring offsetting spending cuts to pay for recovery efforts and by stripping money for projects they say are unrelated to the Oct. 29 storm or not urgently needed.

The push by budget hawks for amendments sets up a fight with Northeast lawmakers in both parties eager to provide recovery aid for one of the worst storms ever to strike the region as the House moves toward expected votes Tuesday on the emergency spending package.

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