{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/10/mcclatchy-dc", "McClatchy DC: Deficit hawks no match for natural disasters. House poised to OK billions", "2017-10-11", "2017", "2017-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Jim Risch", "R000584", "www.risch.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The House is poised Thursday \u2014 over the fierce objections of conservatives \u2014 to pass a $36.5 billion emergency package to help states and U.S. territories ravaged by a series of hurricanes and wildfires that have killed dozens and destroyed thousands of homes.\r\nConservative lawmakers are upset that the money is not offset by spending cuts elsewhere, but the political will to help those affected by in California, Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas and elsewhere is overwhelming.\r\n\u201cGoing forward, we\u2019re going to have more natural disasters and we need to rethink how to pay for these things,\u201d said Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. \u201cWe need to pay for them as the work is done, and not just write a blank check. When you just throw out a pile of money, it\u2019s open to abuse.\u201d\r\nRep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee,\u00a0complained that lawmakers did not\u00a0have adequate time to review what he called an \u201cever-growing spending bill.\u201d\r\nThe White House last week had requested $29 billion and called this week for an additional $5 billion to help Puerto Rico\u2019s government. And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Democrats had pushed for an extra $1 billion for emergency relief in the wake of the California fires.\r\nThe legislation, which is expected to draw strong support from Democrats and Republicans, closely mirrors the funding requests submitted by the administration, including $18.7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s disaster relief fund, $576.5 million for the Forest Service to battle wildfires and $16 billion for debt relief for the National Flood Insurance Program.\r\nThe legislation also includes a provision for the Disaster Nutrition Assistance Program to enable low-income residents in Puerto Rico to receive the same emergency nutrition assistance that other hurricane-affected states already receive.\r\nWalker called for allowing members to offer amendments to cut spending elsewhere and to ensure transparency for how the money will be spent.\r\n\u201cRepublicans control the White House and the Congress and we can not ignore or further enable our debt crisis,\u201d Walker said. \u201cWe have no excuses and no scapegoats. It is time for tough choices and responsible governing.\u201d\r\nA number of lawmakers suggested they\u2019d hold their nose and vote on the package, despite spending concerns and worries that similar emergency packages have been magnets for fraud. Conservatives have already \u201clost\u201d the battle, given the severity of the catastrophes, said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.\r\n\u201cI\u2019d like to see offsets in spending, but I know how that works out as far as a political battle is concerned in times of stress,\u201d King said.\r\nHouse Republican leaders and Democrats hailed the emergency spending package, the second in as many months. It\u2019s unlikely to be the last: The White House suggested even before the California wildfires that it could return to Congress with a third or even fourth request for disaster spending\r\nCongress in September approved a $15.3 billion aid package that included community development block grant rebuilding funds with emergency money for cleanup, repair and housing. The money was aimed at helping victims of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana.\r\n\"This is a time when our country needs to respond,\" said House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is leading a bipartisan delegation to Puerto Rico on Friday. \u201cAnd this is a time when we here in Congress will respond because that is our responsibility.\u201d\r\nDemocrats cheered the package. \u201cPuerto Rico faces a long path to full recovery and we cannot rest until the island is made whole,\u201d said Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, D-N.Y., the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress. \u201cI fully expect Congress to provide additional assistance, including rebuilding the energy grid, repairing telecommunications networks and mending the infrastructure system.\u201d\r\nWestern states lawmakers called the $576.5 million for firefighting a \u201clittle bit of a win\u201d that will help address record-breaking fires across several states.\r\n\u201cThe catastrophic nature of the fires is turning peoples\u2019 heads,\u201d said Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho. \u201cIt\u2019s becoming much more of an obvious problem.\u201d\r\nBut Risch said more critical is\u00a0legislation that would give the Forest Service\u00a0and the Bureau of Land Management access to funds to fight fires from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates responses to disasters like hurricanes, if their budgets for fighting wildfires runs out.\r\nFreedom Caucus members said they\u2019d be more amenable to voting to the package if it includes reforms to the nation\u2019s flood insurance program.\r\n\u201cThe major concern is debt relief, just writing off debt with no reforms, discipline or logic,\u201d said Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va.\r\nThe\u00a0conservative group Heritage Action urged a no vote on the legislation, arguing against the $16 billion in debt relief for the flood insurance program.\r\n\u201cFederal relief to victims of hurricanes is warranted, but Congress must act in a fiscally responsible manner by offsetting funding that is not truly \u2018emergency\u2019 in nature,\u201d Heritage wrote.\r\nBut Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. said the spending is the only way get regions damaged by storms and wildfires back on their feet.\r\n\u201cThey\u2019re not wasting money, there\u2019s a recognition that it (spending) needs to get done,\u201d Cole said.\r\nLink to article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/10/mcclatchy-dc"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8698482997715473, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}