U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2) got into it Tuesday with Speaker John Boehner over Hurricane Sandy funding.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told LoBiondo that the House would consider $60 billion in Hurricane Sandy funding immediately following a resolution of the fiscal cliff. But Monday night came and went and LoBiondo and others approached Boehner Tuesday afternoon to get a hard answer on a delayed Hurricane Sandy vote.
Boehner yelled at LoBiondo.
In the lead-up to the confrontation, LoBiondo had every expectation that Boehner would move swiftly to put Sandy relief to a vote.
It didn’t happen.
“I kept asking Eric, not just myself, but a number of us,” LoBiondo told PolitickerNJ.com. “He said ‘I’m ready to go but don’t have the green light to go.’ By late afternoon I asked for a meeting. His reaction was not what I expected. It’s not how it needed to be handled. We were told there will not be a decision until after the fiscal cliff.”
LoBiondo said municipalities are counting on the feds to help rebuild.
“This is absurd. I’ve never been this angry,” LoBiondo said. “Sen. Menendez and other Democrats were very helpful. This could have been a poster child for bipartisanship, instead, this is what we have.”
Boehner has scheduled a meeting for 3 p.m. to consider the matter, the congressman said.
