Congress To Vote On Superstorm Sandy Flood Aid ? CBS New York

A destroyed home is viewed along the beach in the Belle Harbor on January 2, 2013 in the Queens. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP)?? A $9.7 billion measure to pay flood insurance claims is set for a vote in Congress Friday, boosting prospects for relief for the many home and business owners flooded out by Superstorm Sandy.

If the House, as expected, approves the flood insurance proposal on Friday, the Senate plans to follow with a likely uncontested vote later in the day.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency warns that the National Flood Insurance Program will run out of money next week if Congress doesn?t provide additional borrowing authority to pay out claims.

Northeast lawmakers say the money is urgently needed for storm victims awaiting claim checks with the most severe flooding occurring in Atlantic City, New York City, Long Island and along the Connecticut coastline.

?People are waiting to be paid,? said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, (R-N.J.), whose district includes Atlantic City and many other coastal communities hard hit by the storm. ?They?re sleeping in rented rooms on cots somewhere and they?re not happy. They want to
get their lives back on track and it?s cold outside. They see no prospect of relief.?

House Speaker John Boehner promised a House vote on Friday after his decision to delay an action on a broader Sandy relief package provoked outrage from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said he?d lost trust in GOP leaders in Congress after being promised a vote earlier this week.

?There?s only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims ? the House majority and their Speaker, John Boehner,? Christie said Wednesday. ?America deserves better than just another example of a government that has forgotten who they are there to serve and why.?

The flood insurance measure is the first phase of a proposed Sandy aid package. Under Boehner?s new schedule, the House will vote Jan. 15 on an additional $51 billion in recovery money. Senate action on that measure is expected the following week.

?The end result will be New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will receive the funding they deserve,? said Rep. Peter King, (R-N.Y.) earlier this week.

Fiscally pressured local governments are awaiting that money.

?States and local communities need to know the money will be there before they can give a green light to start rebuilding,? said LoBiondo.

About 140,000 Sandy-related flood insurance claims have been filed, FEMA officials said, and most have yet to be closed out. Many flood victims have only received partial payments on their claims.

Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was blamed for at least 120 deaths. Northeast lawmakers have complained that it took just 10 days for Congress to approve about $50 billion in aid for Katrina but that it hasn?t provided aid for Sandy relief in more than two months.

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Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/04/congress-to-vote-on-superstorm-sandy-flood-aid/

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