Haley Barbour Breaks With Eric Cantor On Disaster Relief

WASHINGTON -- Governor Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) broke with his own party's leadership in the House of Representatives on Friday, arguing that Congress should not offset money appropriated for disaster relief.

Speaking to reporters after his speech at the Faith and Freedom conference, Barbour argued that money to respond to natural disasters was both inherently unpredictable in its amount and immediate in its need.

"I think disaster relief is not predictable," Barbour said. "Emergencies caused by tornadoes, hurricanes are not predictable. Even if Congress –- which as far as I know they never have –- set aside a pot of money as some have proposed, and said, 'Okay, this is money we’re going to use to pay for disaster relief' -– if they were to do that and we had a gigantic disaster that cost much more than that, surely Congress would come back and appropriate the extra money. And if they didn’t have a place to offset it, they should still go in and do it."

The statement from Barbour, who is no stranger to the costs and difficulties of disaster response, puts him directly at odds with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who has said that any federal response to the tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., should be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.

"I know that America is just stunned by the scope of devastation and loss and the horrific tragedy that the people of Joplin and other places across the country really are experiencing this tornado season," Cantor said in a recent appearance on "Face the Nation."

"When a family is struck with tragedy -- like the family of Joplin ... let's say if they had $10,000 set aside to do something else with, to buy a new car ... and then they were struck with a sick member of the family or something, and needed to take that money to apply it to that, that's what they would do, because families don't have unlimited money. And, really, neither does the federal government."

Barbour, of course, feels a different set of political constraints and pressures than Cantor and other GOP House members. Running a state that has been hit by flooding, hurricanes and oil spills means becoming intimately familiar with the unpredictable price tag of disaster relief. It wouldn't be particularly surprising if other governors in disaster-stricken states felt similarly skittish about Cantor's calls for fiscal rectitude, though none have voiced such opinions publicly, like Barbour.

Comments

[Betty Alexander]

10:57 PM on 06/16/2011

Elected officials are only interested in what they will get. All want " under the table" money. Many are big friends with banks and other financial institutions. Getting money is no problem for them. The working class does not have it so easy. I have worked for 46 years as a teacher and my income never reached 6 digits. These people we elect makes that kind of money in just al little while. As we have learned, some may not pay their taxes. Barbour is probably afraid he is going to lose his gravy train. The AG acts like we owe him alot more than he is making.

[floresfamily9]

01:00 PM on 06/06/2011

If a family member were to need $ for such a thing, of course I would give what I could. So is he vounteering some of federal $ that would normally go to VA be send to Mississippi? One "family member" to another, right?

[omobob]

10:44 AM on 06/06/2011

I can not remember any politician or Party being so utterly heartless and without compassion as to withhold disaster funds from dire emergencies like in the Mid-West. making citizens suffer while cantor looks for off set money is a slap in the face of all the disaster victims.

[peter777]

11:21 PM on 06/04/2011

Difference between Cantor and Barbour is explained by the difference in experience and perspective. Cantor has never been in charge of anything and certainly not in the direct line of having to provide an essential service to citizens. Barbour, while I do not agree with his hard right conservative bent, has had considerable experience as Governor and knows how inappropriate it is to block aid to people with political blackmail. Words are hard to find to describe what a miserly wretch Cantor is.

[Danlar]

11:14 PM on 06/04/2011

the GOP platform/words ...more importantly their ACTIONS have been MORE GUNS (they wanted to fund full military spending for the rest of the fiscal year then slash everything else AKA "BUTTER" things that might actually help real live Americans, cant have THAT!.
I will NEVER vote for a party that oversees the doubling of military spending making us NOT STRONG and LESS SMART in our defense......
Cut the defense first
GOPers ONLY care about debt when there are Dems in office. During REAGAN, BUSH 1, BUSH 2 they were perfectly HAP HAP HAPPy with DEBT DEBT DEBT rarely a peep...Until Clinton and Obama then it's 24/7 OH MY DEBT! look at THEIR DEBT...according to them the only good debt is GOP DEBT.
I'd be totally ok with hurricane relief being tied to military spending in those same states but you know they wouldn't go after anything in Missouri they would go after NPR, medicare, social security....stuff that actually benefits Americans....

[Carolyn LeBeauf]

09:52 PM on 06/04/2011

I can't believe what I am reading. Haley Barbour has a heart., has compassion, has feelings. His GOP buddies will have him back tracking that statement in a few days.

[Tootsie56]

07:22 PM on 06/04/2011

Mr. Barbour finally acts like a Governor and is actually able to show compassion for the people of his state. About time.

[elljay1]

07:06 PM on 06/04/2011

All these guys think of the government as a business, It Is NOT It is a social program, not a profit making venture WAKE UP
NOW Correct Me IF I AM WRONG

[Danlar]

11:18 PM on 06/04/2011

it should work and be efficient....but it won't be better than the people in general. if people are wasteful then government will be too
...that said" taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society"
and can be a tremendous force for good

-former supreme court justice Oliver Wendall Holmes

[Betty Alexander]

10:40 PM on 06/16/2011

Do not continue to send US dollars out to other countries, when there are citizens hurting in our own country. Charity should begin at home. When the small town I live in was drastically hit by Hurricane Ike in '08, we did not wait for assistance. Work began the minute we were allowed back in town. Neighbors helped neighbors. Church groups donated lots of time and money. The town still has many delapidated houses that people decided to leave. But for the most part, we are almost back to normal. This incident is similar to New Orleans and Katrina.
Ike brought in several feet of salt water from the Gulf that hung around for awhile.

[maxhnb]

05:59 PM on 06/04/2011

Anyone who was involved in the Katrina debacle, can tell you that barbour screwed up big time in pushing the evacuation of the Miss gulf coast. For over ayear after Katrina, Miss. citizens were living in tents on their front lawns. Barbour was preoccupied with impeding the attempts by La Gov Kathleen Blanco to evacuate New Orleans when he used state troopers to block exits to I10 E
I was there, I know as I had to detour 58 miles into Miss to finally exit and goe east from Hattiesburg. barbour knows that if he doesnt take a stance, and one of the Gulf storms hits Miss this year, he ewill be political sewage.

[Tootsie56]

07:24 PM on 06/04/2011

Actually, I think he's already there. In the sewage stuff.

[tbbikerdad]

08:35 AM on 06/05/2011

Even conservative government in Louisiana , and Mississippi , were more worried about getting the casino's back open after Katrina . GOVERNMENT NEEDED THE TAX REVENUE TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE . It did not matter how much more it cost to rebuild a casino , than to fix grandmaws house .......... THAT MAKES ME SICK ................ALL POLITICS IS THE SAME ....THERE IS A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO AMERICAN ECONOMY , not so long as congress owns wall street . gas price at the pump has nothing to do with gas . it is mostly taxes , price has nothing to do with anything else . My name is T i m

[Bloodhound41]

04:12 PM on 06/04/2011

Cantor, "I know that America is just stunned by the scope of devestation and loss" If it helps me push my agenda I just don't give a f--k.

[cminca]

03:37 PM on 06/04/2011

If Virginia gets with a hurricane this season you'll suddenly see Eric Cantor not worrying about off-setting the cost of disaster relief.

Like all Republicans--he wants all the benefits of the federal government--he just wants someone else to pay for them.

[ocrmom59]

03:34 PM on 06/04/2011

Why should he be surprise or anyone else for that matter, this is what the republicans and teaparties people wanted in office to try to make the president look bad. Now that the tables are turning and people are losing their homes, savings and everytthing else due to no fault of their own, Cantor thinks that money should come from people who are already living on the edge and he want further cuts.

This is what is going to happen with all the new laws these states has made in cutting off programs that do benefit everyone and not just one group of people. If it is not the disasters of the weather, it will be disasters of all the programns they want to cut and it will happen sooner than they think.

It is sad that it has to take disasters for some to see that they are in the wrong and it is even saddier when some never see the wrong.

[Voivode Vlad]

03:17 PM on 06/04/2011

Faci it Haley, your party doesn't care if people suffer. It's all about buying elections and getting kickbacks for them.

[Betty Alexander]

10:42 PM on 06/16/2011

People need to help themselves, also!!

[Icantbelieveher]

03:04 PM on 06/04/2011

Tax cuts for the wealthy do not have to be paid for -- nothing got cut when the repubs voted for these tax cuts that benefited the wealthy!

[Tootsie56]

07:26 PM on 06/04/2011

Nope. Not a thing that matters to them. Just to the rest of the country. F

[tribilin219]

02:38 PM on 06/04/2011

Hey, What's the matter Barbour Afraid you'll get kicked out with the rest of your good for nothing Republican friend's? So now you want to look like you care? I for one don't believe a single word that comes out of your or any lying Republicans mouth. Remember fool me once.