Rep. Schweikert: Disaster Relief Bill Packed with Pork

Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) released the following statement Wednesday after his vote against H.R. 152, The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act 2013:“Sadly, as happens so often in Washington, the debate surrounding Sandy disaster relief funding was misleading at best and rhetorically false at worst.“This $50.7 billion bill was packed with pork and pet projects unrelated to disaster spending without the foresight necessary to determine how we could begin to pay for this new spending.“Nearly 80 percent of the final spending total will not be used for years.“Helping our fellow citizens in need is important, but that must be coupled with, as President Obama says, ‘shared sacrifice.’ When we spend money to assist with disasters, as we should, we must find money elsewhere in our budget to pay for it.“There must be a much more responsible path forward for disaster relief funding that does not add billions more to our debt and compound our problems.“Unfortunately, Washington did not take that path.”