Angle Even Opposed Katrina Relief Funds

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025437.php

ANGLE EVEN OPPOSED KATRINA RELIEF FUNDS.... In September 2005, with the nation still stunned by the devastation in Louisiana caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Senate took up a $62 billion package in relief funds for the region. The GOP-led chamber -- the Republicans enjoyed a 55-seat Senate majority at the time -- approved the aid bill unanimously.

Had Nevada's Sharron Angle been there, that would not have been the case. She boasted at the time, in the midst of a failed congressional campaign, that she would have voted "no" on post-Katrina relief. Jon Ralston has the story.

During an interview on conservative KLAV radio in 2005, which she once had up on her site, Angle invoked Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, who she claimed said he was voting "no" because the Katrina money was not carefully accounted for. <...>

But Pence actually voted FOR the $62 billion. His "yea" is right there in the congressional record after someone named Pelosi.

The day after the Sept. 8, 2005, vote, even House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told The Wall Street Journal: "It's too important to play politics with. It's too important to second-guess."

I realize the Katrina crisis was five years ago, and for some in Nevada, the disaster has probably faded from view. But Angle's response to the worst national disaster in American history says a great deal about her priorities and values, and should signal what kind of senator she'd be.

—Steve Benen

[valerief]

1. Well, it's money being taken away from Abstinence Camps. nt