Storm aid inaction angers N.J., N.Y. lawmakers

WASHINGTON - Furious lawmakers from New Jersey and New York said late Tuesday night that the House would not take up a relief package to help the recovery and rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy, effectively killing the bill and forcing them to restart the legislative process needed to secure $60 billion in requested aid.

Earlier in the day, lawmakers from hard-hit states said they expected that the bill would be heard Wednesday after the long fight over the fiscal cliff.

Instead, Republicans and Democrats alike said GOP House leadership had stunned them by changing course after the late-night vote to avert the cliff. They went to the House floor minutes before midnight railing against the decision.

Said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D., N.J.): "The House Republican leadership has failed the people of our state and region . . . It is outrageous that our needs are being pushed aside tonight."

Even some Republicans criticized their own leaders.

U.S. Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) called the move "absolutely indefensible."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner confirmed that the speaker decided not to hold the vote on Wednesday.

"The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month," Brendan Buck wrote in an e-mail.

Without a House vote by mid-day Thursday, the Sandy bill will have to come up anew in the new session of Congress. It had cleared the Senate earlier this month, overcoming procedural hurdles that will now be placed back in its path.

The federal government has enough money to provide relief for several months, but the aid bill was expected to provide long-term funding.

Some Republicans, however, were skeptical of the cost and said the bill was laden with unnecessary spending. They had previously tried to cut the plan.

Some officials from other parts of the country also spoke up for the bill, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Delaware County Republican Pat Meehan.

"These acts of nature are larger than any individual. We must be larger than that," Meehan said on the House floor.