PEOPLE AND PLACES: PROMISED RELIEF TO SANDY’S VICTIMS COMPROMISED BY GOP/BOEHNER

Two and a half months after Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, the U.S. Congress appears to be close to approving a relief package of tens of billions of dollars. Government workers, contractors, and volunteers on the ground are still in the midst of an extensive cleanup phase and welcome the much-needed funds as they rebuild homes, businesses, and infrastructure. While some of the estimated 230,000 cars damaged by Sandy's saltwater surge will soon be going up for auction, many are simply headed for the crusher. Gathered below are images of the ongoing cleanup efforts and those still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner agreed Wednesday to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery.

The speaker will schedule a vote Friday for $9 billion for the national flood insurance program and another on Jan. 15 for a remaining $51 billion in the package, Republican Rep. Peter King of New York said after emerging from a meeting with Boehner and GOP lawmakers from New York and New Jersey. The votes will be taken by the new Congress that will be sworn in Thursday.

King left the session with Boehner without the anger that led him to rip into the speaker Tuesday night.

"It was a very positive meeting," King said, adding that Boehner, R-Ohio, assured the lawmakers present that the money from the two House votes would roughly equal the $60 billion package of aid that passed the Senate.

Since the votes will be taken in the new Congress, the Senate also will have to approve the legislation. If the House, as expected, approves the $9 billion flood insurance proposal, the Senate plans to move quickly in hopes of approving the aid on a voice vote Friday. The flood insurance money will help pay for claims by home and business owners with coverage.

Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.

"Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations," Boehner said in a joint statement with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.

Boehner's decision Tuesday night to cancel an expected vote on Sandy aid before Congress ends its current session provoked a firestorm of criticism from New York, New Jersey and adjacent states where the money will go, including many lawmakers in his own party.

According to King, Boehner explained that after the contentious vote to avoid major tax increases and spending cuts called the "fiscal cliff," Boehner didn't think it was the right time to schedule the vote before the current Congress went out of business.

"What's done is done. The end result will be New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will receive the funding they deserve. We made our position clear last night. That's in the past," King said.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., added, "We do believe we have an iron clad commitment."

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure for immediate recovery needs and a second amendment for $33 billion to meet longer-term needs.

The $9 billion in flood insurance money to be voted on Friday was originally in the $27 billion measure. The votes on Jan. 15 will be for $18 billion in immediate assistance and $33 billion for longer-term projects, including projects to protect against future storms, King said.

Much of the money in the proposals is for immediate help for victims and other recovery and rebuilding efforts. The aid is intended to help states rebuild public infrastructure such as roads and tunnels and help thousands of people displaced from their homes.

Some $5.4 billion is for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund, $5.4 billion is to help transit agencies in New York and New Jersey rebuild and another $3.9 billion is for the Housing and Urban Development Department's development fund to repair hospitals, utilities and small businesses.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, was among those sharply criticizing Boehner before the speaker changed course.

Christie said he was frustrated after Boehner withdrew the bill Tuesday night and tried to call him four times that night, but none of the calls were returned. Christie complained about the "toxic internal politics" of the House majority. Christie said he had worked hard to persuade House members to support Sandy aid, and was given assurances by GOP leaders that the bill would be voted on before Thursday.

"There is no reason for me at the moment to believe anything they tell me," Christie said before Boehner announced there would be votes this month.

King had branded Boehner's initial decision to pull the bill a "cruel knife in the back" to New York and New Jersey.

King was among an angry chorus of New York and New Jersey lawmakers from both parties who blasted Boehner, with some saying his move was a "betrayal."

In considering the Sandy aid package, the speaker was caught between conservative lawmakers who want to offset any increase in spending and Northeast and mid-Atlantic lawmakers determined to help their states recover more than two months after the storm hit.

The criticism of Boehner on the House floor was personal at times, and reflected in part the frustration among the rank-and-file over the decision to press ahead with a vote on the fiscal cliff deal engineered by the White House and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. Boehner had been struggling with conservatives who complained that the economic package didn't include enough spending cuts.

Reps. Michael Grimm, a Republican, and Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, said in angry House floor remarks that while they did not agree on much, Boehner's decision amounted to a "betrayal" and a crushing blow to states battered by the storm.

President Barack Obama also called for an immediate House vote. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., raised the political temperature even more. She said Boehner should come to Staten Island and the Rockaways to explain his decision to families whose homes and businesses were destroyed. "But I doubt he has the dignity nor the guts to do it," Gillibrand said.

Obama, meanwhile, called for House Republicans to vote on the Sandy aid "without delay for our fellow Americans." The president said in a written statement that many people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are trying to recover from the storm and need "immediate support with the bulk of winter still in front of us."

The White House said Obama spoke Wednesday with Christie about the importance of the disaster aid bill, and that the president's staff was in touch with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's team too as Obama lobbied for House action.

Christie and Cuomo, a Democrat, issued a joint statement, saying, "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."

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., blamed tea party lawmakers and conservatives who were reluctant to approve new spending soon after the debate over the "fiscal cliff" budget issues for the sudden move by GOP leaders. He said the move was "deplorable."

More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm, one of the worst ever to hit the Northeast. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring, according to officials. The unspent FEMA money can only be used for emergency services, said Pallone.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal FEMA aid.

Remember House Speaker John Boehner's promise to hold a vote on Hurricane Sandy relief aid was all it took for Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to go from saying you'd have to be insane to support a Republican to voting to reelect Boehner as speaker? Well, so far King has gotten $9 billion of the $60 billion he was promised, but with just a few days left for Boehner to keep his word on the remaining $51 billion, House Republicans are once again organizing to block the relief aid package.

Buckle up: The Hurricane Sandy disaster relief bill could be in trouble. Again.
At least that's what some House Republicans fear. Or hope, depending on whom you ask.

The issue: instead of bringing legislation authorizing the remaining $51 billion to the floor for an up-or-down vote, Boehner is planning to split the bill into two pieces, one of which funds disaster insurance and the other of which would rebuild infrastructure destroyed during the storm. Moreover, he's allowing votes on amendments, a move which will give House Republicans the opportunity to add unrelated spending cuts (euphemistically called "offsets") to the legislation.

The insurance portion probably isn't in jeopardy, but the infrastructure piece is likely to come under withering assault and will only pass with overwhelming Democratic support. If Republicans are successful in loading up the bill with spending cuts, however, they will have added poison pills to the bill, effectively dooming it.

The mere fact that the amendments are going to be allowed appears to be a violation of Boehner's promise to King—or at least a violation of what King claimed to have been promised. Appearing on CNN after announcing Boehner's pledge, King said the aid package would be a clean bill without offsets. "It's not going to be done now," he said. "It shouldn't be done, and it won't be." (The video of King's remarks is at the top of this post.)

If House Republicans do succeed in blocking all or part of the Hurricane Sandy relief package, it will put an exclamation point on King's admission that Republicans are biased against the northeast. Indeed, the mere fact that they are still considering blocking the aid demonstrates their anti-northeast bias. And keep in mind, despite all their whining about how northeasterners supposedly look down their noses at the south, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the northeastern United States was overwhelmingly supportive of their fellow citizens, approving more than $60 billion in aid within two weeks of the storm hitting the coast. And not a single House Democrat voted no.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., left, joined by other New York area-lawmakers affected by Superstorm Sandy, express their anger and disappointment after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for the storm's victims, at the Capitol in Washington, early Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., left, joined by other New York area-lawmakers affected by Superstorm Sandy, express their anger and disappointment after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for the storm's victims, at the Capitol in Washington, early Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. From left are, King, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Md., Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, file photo, Robert Connolly, left, embraces his wife Laura as they survey the remains of the home owned by her parents that burned to the ground in the Breezy Point section of New York, during Superstorm Sandy. The current term of the U.S. Congress is set to end this week with no action on aid for the superstorm that left more than 100 dead and thousands homeless in three northeast states. Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey said in a joint statement Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 that the "continued inaction and indifference" by the House "'is inexcusable." (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
FILE - An Oct. 30, 2012, file photo shows an aerial view of burned-out homes in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough New York after a fire in the beachfront neighborhood as a result of superstorm Sandy. The current term of the U.S Congress is set to end this week with no action on aid for the superstorm that left more than 100 dead and thousands homeless in three northeast states and lawmakers and officials from the area are furious. New York lawmakers from both parties lashed out at the decision by House Republican leaders not to hold a vote on Sandy aid in the current Congress, calling it a "betrayal." (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2012, file photo, clean-up from superstorm Sandy continues on the site of a demolished home on the Rockaway peninsula in the Queens borough of New York. The current term of the U.S Congress is set to end this week with no action on aid for the superstorm that left more than 100 dead and thousands homeless in three northeast states and lawmakers and officials from the area are furious. New York lawmakers from both parties lashed out at the decision by House Republican leaders not to hold a vote on Sandy aid in the current Congress, calling it a "betrayal." (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2012 file photo, Evangean Pugh, far right, talks on a phone as she waits on line to apply for recovery assistance from Superstorm Sandy at a FEMA processing center in Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The current term of the U.S Congress is set to end this week with no action on aid for the superstorm that left more than 100 dead and thousands homeless in three northeast states and lawmakers and officials from the area are furious. New York lawmakers from both parties lashed out at the decision by House Republican leaders not to hold a vote on Sandy aid in the current Congress, calling it a "betrayal." (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gestures as he talks about how the Congress failed to vote as expected on an aid package for damage from Superstorm Sandy during a news conference in the Red Room at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. Cuomo said he expects a vote soon. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., whose district includes Long Island, expresses his anger and disappointment during a cable TV interview, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, after the House GOP leadership decided late New Year's Day to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner agreed Wednesday to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery.

King left the session with Boehner without the anger that led him to rip into the speaker Tuesday night.

Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.

"What's done is done. The end result will be New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will receive the funding they deserve. We made our position clear last night. That's in the past," King said.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., added, "We do believe we have an iron clad commitment."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, was among those sharply criticizing Boehner before the speaker changed course.

"There is no reason for me at the moment to believe anything they tell me," Christie said before Boehner announced there would be votes this month. King had branded Boehner's initial decision to pull the bill a "cruel knife in the back" to New York and New Jersey.

Tens of thousands of vehicles damaged by Hurricane Sandy are temporarily stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in Calverton, New York, on January 9, 2013. Insurance Auto Auctions Inc, a salvage auto auction company specializing in total-loss vehicles, acquired the cars and trucks that were damaged, destroyed or flooded by the storm and needed a place to store them. The company made a deal with the Town of Riverhead to lease the airport land and then the vehicles are auctioned online. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

Some of the 15,000 storm-damaged vehicles, stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in New York, on January 9, 2013. Insurance Auto Auctions Inc acquired the cars and trucks, and made a deal with the Town of Riverhead to lease the airport land for parking space. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images) #

Some of the thousands of storm-damaged vehicles, stored on runways and taxiways at Calverton Executive Airpark in New York, on January 9, 2013. The town of Riverhead is charging $3,200 a month per acre, and estimates it will earn $2.7 million by the time the auctions are complete.(Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images) #

A large construction vehicle carries remnants of the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on January 3, 2013, that was destroyed two months ago by Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) #

A resident picks up a trash can left on a sand covered street, two months after superstorm Sandy caused the damage in the region of Breezy Point in Queens, New York, on December 27, 2012. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson) #

Hundreds of residents of Long Beach, Long Island attend a "goodbye" ceremony for the town's historic wooden boardwalk, which was badly damaged in Hurricane Sandy, on January 5, 2013. Residents were given a final opportunity to say goodbye to the landmark boardwalk and to take a piece home before it was to be demolished and eventually replaced with a new boardwalk. The demolition is expected to take about a month. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #

A crane pulls the roof off of a house severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy in the Staten Island borough of New York, on January 14, 2013. Several Staten Island homes damaged beyond repair by Sandy are being demolished. The first city-facilitated demolitions started Monday.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) #

Clouds roll over destroyed homes, two months after Superstorm Sandy caused damage in the region of Breezy Point of Queens, New York, on December 27, 2012. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson) #

A broken framed photo on the porch of a home devastated by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point section of Queens, on January 15, 2013. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton) #

The remnants of two cars burned in a fire during Superstorm Sandy stand rusting in a parking lot in the Queens neighborhood of Breezy Point, on December 29, 2012. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson) #

The remains of houses destroyed during Hurricane Sandy are seen in the Rockaways area of Queens, on January 14, 2013.(Reuters/Brendan McDermid) #

Sand is piled in small mountains in a parking lot as part of the Superstorm Sandy clean-up effort on the Rockaway Peninsula in New York, on January 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) #

A man walks past a small commercial strip that burned down during Superstorm Sandy in the Rockaways section of New York, on January 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) #

Homes severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy bear warnings on Staten Island in New York, on January 10, 2013. The November storm damaged or destroyed 305,000 housing units in New York and more than 265,000 businesses were disrupted in the state.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) #

A public works employee in Bradley Beach, New Jersey, dumps a truckload of discarded Christmas trees on the beach on January 14, 2013, as part of a project to rebuild dunes damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Bradley Beach came through Sandy in better shape than some other coastal towns in part because of its dunes. The governor had harsh words for oceanfront property owners along the Jersey shore who are refusing to let governments carry out protective dune projects because the work will affect their oceanfront views, calling them "extremely selfish and short-sighted." (AP Photo/Wayne Parry) #

A worker helps to construct a new sea wall along the beach in the Belle Harbor neighborhood in the Rockaways in Queens, on January 2, 2013.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #

Mounds of mixed sand and debris sit on the side of the road as the cleanup process continues following Superstorm Sandy, on January 8, 2013, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) #

The remains of destroyed homes and businesses after Superstorm Sandy in the Rockaways, on January 2, 2013.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #

Javier Moran cleans an empty lot filled with debris from Superstorm Sandy in Staten Island, on January 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) #

Kim Baker watches as neighbors drag debris to the trash, as she works to clean up her Sandy-damaged home in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on January 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) #

Huge piles of debris still line portions of Route 35, the main highway through the shore in Toms River New Jersey, on January 4, 2012.(AP Photo/Wayne Parry) #

The Colombo's dogs, Jake and Jet, look out the window of the mobile home where they are living in the Broad Channel section of Queens, New York, on January 3, 2013. The Colombos are living in the mobile home while working on their house, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) #

A home damaged by Hurricane Sandy along the beach in the Rockaways, on January 15, 2013. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #

Volunteers clear debris outside a house damaged by Hurricane Sandy in the Rockaway neighborhood, of Queens, on January 12, 2013.(Lee Celano/Getty Images) #

A sign stands outside a home devastated by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point section of Queens, on January 15, 2013. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton) #

A demolition crane clears debris caused by Hurricane Sandy, near the Ferris wheel at Fun Town Amusement Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on January 7, 2013. Most of the town's boardwalk was destroyed in late October 2012 by the superstorm. (Reuters/Tom Mihalek)