Congressman Steve King, a Republican from western Iowa, voted against the nearly $52 billion disaster aid package that cleared Congress Thursday. During remarks Thursday night on the House floor to explain his vote, King said he was a victim of the floods of 1993. King said his business “barely” survived the flood. “I’m not a person without compassion,” King said. “I’m also a person not without fiscal responsibility.” King called the disaster response budget he’s been shown “irrational.” King said federal emergency officials are asking Congress to “trust” them. He’s particularly critical of FEMA’s decision to buy more thousands of trailer homes for hurricane victims, as King says trailers are probably not appropriate shelter in a hurricane zone. “That’s imprudent, early spending of money,” King said. The congressman said FEMA would be spending money “unchecked” with the green flag that Congress gave Thursday by approving the emergency relief without demanding more details. “I’m going to be part of standing with the victims of this (hurricane) but in a fiscally-responsible fashion,” King said. Defenders of the federal response to the hurricane have said since 9/11, Homeland Security officials had been more focused on responding to a terrorist attack rather than an act of Mother Nature, but King compared the hurricane to a military assault. “It went in on the wind and blew out the electricity and the communications…and then it cut off the transportation avenues in and out of the city by taking out the bridges, and then once it isolated the city then it attacked…the flood that went in and did such devastating damage,” King said. You can hear all of King’s comments on the House floor on our website — www.radioiowa.com.
