THE NIGHTMARE'S NOT OVER!

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

 

The nightmare that was Hurricane Sandy is not over for many east coast residents. Can I even call them residents? Scores of people are still homeless and living in shelters and some are actually living on the streets. It’s January 2013 and there are fellow Americans still without power, living in what’s left of their home with mold and refuse all around them.  Many Americans and organizations have been kind and generous in their response to the disaster, but what about our own government? As Sandy struck, politicians got up and promised quick response, relief and assistance. And then there was the House of Representatives!

     Tuesday night, House Speaker John Boehner, allowed the house to adjourn after 'fiscal cliff' talks, but, before taking up a much broader $51 billion aid package for Sandy victims.  It was "disappointing and disgusting to watch," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, blaming "the toxic internal politics of the House majority."

"New Jersey deserves better than the duplicity we saw on display," he said, adding, "Shame on Congress."  Christie said he had tried to reach Boehner on Tuesday night after the latter canceled a vote on the aid bill, which had already been approved by the Senate. "He did not take my calls," said Christie.

     In a news conference, Christie said he joined people of his state in feeling "betrayed" and added that the move summarizes "why the American people hate Congress."

In a statement, Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrote: "This failure to come to the aid of Americans following a severe and devastating natural disaster is unprecedented. The fact that days continue to go by while people suffer, families are out of their homes, and men and women remain jobless and struggling during these harsh winter months is a dereliction of duty. "

     The plan being considered by the House Friday would send $9 billion in immediate assistance for floor insurance for Sandy victims. The other, broader, $51 billion aid package will be tackled by lawmakers on January 15.  My question is, why does it have to wait? These people are suffering and in immediate need. Take a look at how conditions in some of the affected areas look NOW!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of us come from these east coast areas and have family and friends still living in deplorable conditions. Members of our own DRL staff have suffered great damage and hardship due to Sandy. My sister still lives in Brooklyn. Luckily, she lives in what was Zone 2 and sustained little damage. She drove to our childhood home in Sheepshead Bay and called me almost in tears. The home we grew up in was gutted and had a bright orange paper taped to the front. Most of the houses were destroyed or so damaged they were uninhabitable. Our childhood friends’ homes in what we called “the courts” were demolished. The beautiful, historic Emmons Avenue, the heart of Sheepshead Bay had boats up on the street. The footbridge was under destroyed and large deposits of sludge formed on the sides.

The story is even worse in Long Island, Breezy Point, the Jersey Shore, parts of Connecticut, and other northeaster areas. And now they deal with dirt, filth, rubble, and on top of that – snow and cold. How can members of the House go home to their comfortable air conditioned or heated homes with their electricity, food, and family intact when they know so many are going without all these things?

 And what about FEMA? Don’t even get me started! An untold number of storm victims have been rejected for aid by FEMA for a host of reasons that range from the ridiculous to the confounding. One engaged couple happens to have the same last name and date of birth, though not related at all. FEMA denied them saying they must be related, even though they had proof that it was not true. It seems that FEMA started just sending our form rejections without even finding out what insurance was covering or not.

WHAT CAN WE DO? We need to keep reminding Washington that we want quick action and no excuses. Haven’t they had enough practice with the major hurricanes in Florida and New Orleans to have legislation in place to allow for quick and decisive action to provide emergency relief as well as long term assistance?????

Here is a link to help you find your representative.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

 

Send them a message saying you want immediate action taken. When a vote is taken on January 15^th for a relief bill for the northeast,(as promised)  let’s tell them to make sure there is no red tape that will keep the money from being distributed immediately.

Also- keep all those affected by this storm in your thoughts and prayers, as well as these politicians that have the power to help them. Pray that our leaders will choose people over profit, Americans over avarice, and assistance over ambition.

Information for this post was taken from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/boos-house-adjourns-hurricane-sandy-relief-18112801

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-yorkers-denied-aid-fema-bureaucracy-article-1.1211634#ixzz2GzOzmdFY

 

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/in-congress-something-old-and-something-new-the-note/

 

 

AVOIDING THE FISCAL CLIFF,ONE STEP at a TIME

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

 

The US House has voted on a bill to avoid the “fiscal cliff” that we’ve all been dreading. In a late night vote on Tuesday, the bill was approved with a  257-167 vote. Most Democrats approved while many Republicans did not, stating that there weren’t enough tax cuts in the bill. The bill will now go to President Obama’s desk for approval.

I’m no political analyst, but I do know that this would prevent middle-class taxes from going up but would raise rates on higher incomes. It would also block spending cuts for two months, extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, prevent a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevent a spike in milk prices. I think all this is good for A START, but there is much more work to do.

 I think our lawmakers need to get themselves busy finding ways to cut spending starting with their own salaries, bonuses, insurance plans, “expense accounts” and other ways. I believe the salary of a president or any politician should not be for life, nor should we pay for traveling expenses unless they are directly related to the business of running this country. Vacations, campaigning, and personal events should have to be paid for out of pocket just like the rest of us. If we have to pay for our medical, dental and life insurance, so should all politicians. I would also like to see a nice, reasonable “cap” put on presidential libraries. In my opinion, there are SO many ways to make cuts that won’t hurt the American people and really isn’t unreasonable to ask of our politicians.

 As I said, I’m no expert, so here is some data from the Associated Press and Channel 13 News  explaining some of the details of the bill. (picture is from CSPAN)

 

- Income tax rates: Extends decade-old tax cuts on incomes up to $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for couples. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. Extends Clinton-era caps on itemized deductions and the phase-out of the personal exemption for individuals making more than $250,000 and couples earning more than $300,000.

- Estate tax: Estates would be taxed at a top rate of 40 percent, with the first $5 million in value exempted for individual estates and $10 million for family estates. In 2012, such estates were subject to a top rate of 35 percent.

- Capital gains, dividends: Taxes on capital gains and dividend income exceeding $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for families would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.

- Alternative minimum tax: Permanently addresses the alternative minimum tax and indexes it for inflation to prevent nearly 30 million middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from being hit with higher tax bills averaging almost $3,000. The tax was originally designed to ensure that the wealthy did not avoid owing taxes by using loopholes.

- Other tax changes: Extends for five years Obama-sought expansions of the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, and an up-to-$2,500 tax credit for college tuition. Also extends for one year accelerated "bonus" depreciation of business investments in new property and equipment, a tax credit for research and development costs and a tax credit for renewable energy such as wind-generated electricity.

- Unemployment benefits: Extends jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed for one year.

- Cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors: Blocks a 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors for one year. The cut is the product of an obsolete 1997 budget formula.

- Social Security payroll tax cut: Allows a 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax first enacted two years ago to lapse, which restores the payroll tax to 6.2 percent.

- Across-the-board cuts: Delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts set to start striking the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week. Cost of $24 billion is divided between spending cuts and new revenues from rule changes on converting traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs.