Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Allegheny) wants the federal government to do a better job managing its disaster response spending.
On Monday, Rothfus introduced H.R. 3347, the Disaster Assistance Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013. The legislation calls for creating a roadmap for future spending by reviewing federal disaster efforts over the last two years.
“It’s a good government bill and it allows us to get a good accounting of where hard-working taxpayers money is spent,” said Rothfus.
Rothfus’ motivation for getting involved in this project is likely tied to his vote against the Hurricane Sandy aid package in January. Rothfus was one of 7 Pa. reps who didn’t support the bill.
It’s one of the votes most often cited by Rothfus’s critics, who say it demonstrates his willingness to put ideology ahead of helping people in need.
It’s especially remembered in Johnstown, where voters have historical sympathy toward flood victims.
Following the Sandy vote, Rothfus pledged to construct a plan for addressing similar situations in the future.
“Unfortunately, the package voted on today results in another $50 billion borrowed from our kids and grandkids,” Rothfus said then. “Moving forward, I will work with my colleagues to craft better ways to budget and pay for future natural disaster relief.”
As the Tribune-Democrat reported, both the Office of Management and Budget and the Government Accountability Office will be tasked with examining past spending habits in order to issue annual reports and address areas of waste respectively.
“It’s important to have data out there in one spot, so when we go to our annual appropriations process, we can have a better framework to work with,” Rothfus said.
Rothfus 2014 challenger Erin McClelland questioned the sincerity of this proposal.
“The belief that Americans will stand by their own, protect their own and rebuild this great nation when tragedy strikes has not been a partisan issue,” McClelland told PoliticsPA. “But Mr. Rothfus and his cronies didn’t hesitate to exploit the despair of others in order to codify their Tea Party credentials and their bastardized and twisted brand of “fiscal Conservatism.”
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6 Responses
What do you expect from a tax and spend with no accountability pol such as McClelland. Never mind that monies promised by the great Obama have still not made it to the Sandy disaster victims. Let them eat cake.
My goodness, this failed Bush Administration Katrina relief official wants to fix disaster relief. Did he do a poll and did it show that most voters have natural compassion and want to do the right thing in a disaster? Based upon today’s NBC/Wall Street poll could their be an Independent Challenger in Keith Rothfus’s future when he seeks re-election with the ever popular Tea Party Tom Corbett?
“Isn’t this interesting…Rothfus is now covering his political six in order to mitigate damage resulting from his no votes for Oklahoma tornado and Superstorm Sandy relief. Don’t forget that Johnstown suffers from floods. Imagine if Rothfus’ and his colleagues were in the majority…they’d let Johnstown drown on a matter of principal.”
http://www.larrystilesforcongress.com/disaster-relief
McCleland doesn’t even live in the district she’s a joke
The idea that Rothfus’ “reform” is even remotely sincere is laughable.
Why do all these politicians keep claiming that every bill will be paid by kids and grandkids?
How about funding things with appropriate tax levels for resources like Marcus Shale?
I’d like to see a “pay for it now” set of talking points.
BTW, there are still cases where there is temporary debt due to investing in improvements. So, the cost/debt of building new road gets handled by increased revenue due to new businesses/commerce, or savings by reducing traffic jams. So, those “debts” aren’t really being passed on to kids because the net savings are being passed on to them as well.