Republicans rushed to fix the sequester airport delays that were about to impact them, but they refuse to reverse the sequester cuts that will push 140,000 low income families into homelessness.
The Senate voted by unanimous consent last night to restore funding that was cut by the sequester to the FAA, so that they could afford to bring back furloughed air traffic controllers, and the House quickly followed suit today by passing the Senate bill, 361-41. House Republicans are claiming victory, without acknowledging that they were wrong on two counts. They claimed that Obama was exaggerating the impact of the sequester, and they told America that the sequester would be painless.
It’s amazing how quickly Congress can act when something impacts them. (Another example of this was their stealth repeal of the Stock Act.)
Republicans in Congress refused to allow flight delays disrupt their then upcoming nine day long vacation, but they are happy to ignore the larger problems that are looming thanks to their sequester cuts. Meals On Wheels and Head Start are both facing drastic cuts, but the sequester could also mean homelessness for 140,000 low income families.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “Most agencies will likely continue to shelve vouchers so long as their monthly housing assistance costs exceed their monthly renewal funding allocations from HUD, in light of the risk that the funding cuts could extend into 2014. As a result, we estimate that by early next year, agencies’ voucher programs are likely to shrink by approximately 140,000 households — primarily seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children.”
Congressional Republicans are perfectly fine with pushing seniors, children, and low income families into homelessness, but they absolutely refuse to wait at the airport. (I am singling out Congressional Republicans here, because that is where the hypocrisy is. Congressional Democrats and the president have working for months to avoid/replace the sequester.)
Republicans voted to shift $253 million in the FAA budget to bring the air traffic controllers back, but they can’t find $938 million to keep 140,000 households from homelessness. Actually, it isn’t that they can’t find the money. They won’t find the money, because they don’t care.
The only message that can be taken from their selfish vote to fix the flight delay issues is that they could do something to help people, but they won’t.
It’s that simple. I am sure that many Republicans view these people as Democratic voters. They see the nation’s poor as a part of Romney’s 47% who vote Democrat because they want free stuff. If these people are homeless they may not be able to vote, so some GOPers might see this as a win/win for them.
Republicans want to sell their votes yesterday and today as problem solving, but the message they are really sending is that they don’t care about you.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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