This broken out into to two separate votes. This is the first one. The second one will be voted on before or at Jan 15th in the amount of $51 Billion.

There will be a vote on the remaining ~$51 billion on January 15th, I believe.

Timeforchange,
Where did you get that tidbit of infromation? The only bill introduced so far in Congress is HR 41, the text of which was posted below.

The storm caused people to lose their lifetime savings??? You'll have to explain how that happened. Did Sandy ruin their bank accounts too? Are other taxpayers supposed to bail out everyone who loses something?? Maybe all those cheated by the housing scandals should file a claim. We can call it the FANNIE Bailout fund.

We can simply borrow additional money from China to pay back all loses. What's the difference. A trillion here, a trillion there. No one is ever going to pay it back.

@PennyLane is Red State Texas poor?

take out Philadelphia and PA is BRIGHT RED!

REALLY, where are you guys getting your information from?
According to the Libary of Congress web site this bill was introduced yesterday and sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Nothing was mentioned about a vote to appropirate some moneys now and a separate vote on the 15th.

@ Rick

Boehner made the commitment to the NY and NJ delegations that the next relief bill will be considered by Jan 15. and sent to the Senate.

@Joe Taxpayer. The loss of, "...their lifetime savings..." means the that some people may need to use all of their total savings to date whether from bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, early withdrawals (with 10% penalty), from 401k plans, 403b plans, qualified IRA's (pre tax retirement IRAs), etc., may be exhausted to rebuild their homes. It doesn't mean that their cash flowed away from a bank where they may of had some of these type accounts. With all due respect, your questions of, "The storm caused people to lose their lifetime savings??? You'll have to explain how that happened. Did Sandy ruin their bank accounts too?" reflects your ignorance (that's not a negative thing to call someone in case you didn't know), of this issue.

@Joe Taxpayer. "Are other taxpayers supposed to bail out everyone who loses something?" While an insightful question as to those who didn't carry flood insurance and had a lost, the bill passed yesterday basically provides funds to the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program. People who had flood insurance have PAID a premium for that insurance and presently their claims have not been paid because funding is needed to pay those claims. So, YES "...other federal taxpayers (and that includes the taxpayers who have flood insurance), are supposed to bail out the people who carried flood insurance. The Federal government (the taxpayers), does have an obligation to pay those claims. If you are a homeowner imagine that your house is destroyed by fire and your homeowner insurance carrier tells you that there is no money to pay your claim! That is what has happened to date here.

The bill that was voted down in the last Congress was not pork free. That was the one with all the pork added on.

you can always hope

The 67 knucklehead Republicans voted no to the smaller 10 billion package to fund FEMA flood insurance fund, not the original bill.

I think you meant to say The 67 shovelhead republicans.

@ Rick. Please explain what Bill you are talking about that was voted down by the 112th Congress. The major complaint by the governors of NJ and NY is that the prior Congress had not acted at all prior to yesterday's vote by the 113th Congress. What was, "The bill that was voted down in the last Congress was not pork free..." of which you talk? Also, when was the last time that a congressional or Senate bill didn't contain pork? While I disdain that pork is allowed on bills that are totally unrelated to what is being asked in that pork, should NJ and NY wait until the day that pork is legally not allowed on bills to obtain the much need relief for damages caused by Sandy?

Agree! There is a term that I currently can't remember as to both NJ and NY as to federal taxes paid by our residents versus federal benefits received. We get back cents on our federal tax dollar while other states receive more than 100% (in some cases much more), of their federal tax dollars back in aid., (I'm not just talking disaster aid, but also things like aid to education, medicine, etc.). While I don't know as to Mississippi, Louisiana and states in the tornado belt, how often have we heard in the past that a president has declared an area (sometimes an entire state), as a National Disaster Area after a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc. NJ and NY are among the states that have paid for that disaster aid through our feral tax dollars paid (as well as contributing to private fundraising), w/o most of our citizens questioning it. Now we were hit with a disaster and aid to our states is under all sorts of questions by members congress of other states. And you know what, as hardened as New Yorkers (more meaning the city than the state and that's not a criticism) and some people of NJ can be, we won't hold that against the people (and we shouldn't), of other states when they are next hit with a disaster. We know that it's the knucklehead congressional representatives of those states, whether Republicans or Democrats, etc., that are to blame here not the citizens of those states. Alas, if only we had a vote in those states' US congressional elections in 2 years..

Mister Mike, At the risk of repeating myself, HR 6683. It was introduced on 12/19/2012 as the Hurricane Sandy Tax Relief Act of 2012. It never got past the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Since it wasn't passed or voted down by the end of the year, it had to be reintroduced in the new Congress.

By the way, just what is a 'congressional bill'? And how is in different from a Senate bill?

@Rick, RE: "HR 6683. It was introduced on 12/19/2012 as the Hurricane Sandy Tax Relief Act of 2012. It never got past the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Since it wasn't passed or voted down by the end of the year, it had to be reintroduced in the new Congress." In prior posts you kept on saying (as in one of your posts), "The bill that was voted down in the last Congress..." That is why I asked what bill. Per your post now it is clear that the the bill you were referring to was in fact never voted on thus it was not voted down.

As to a congressional bill I meant a HR # bill such as HR 6683 for example, which differs from a Senate bill which is designated by S followed by the # of the bill.

So, a Senate bill isn't a congressional bill?

I kept on saying? In one post. Stalling a bill in committee is similar to a nay vote. Just like a pocket veto by the President.

@Rick, are you dense or are you using the the Comments section here to fish and see who you can catch hook, line and sinker? Or, can't do you have little reading comprehension? I said, "As to a congressional bill I meant a HR # bill such as HR 6683." Now if you are attempting to give me a civics lesson test, yes I do know that Congress is the combined Senate and House of Representatives. So, yes a congressional bill can either be a bill proposed in the House of Representatives (HR) or a bill proposed in the Senate (S).

Since it seems to me that you want to show your self assessed superior knowledge, stalling a bill in committee is not similar to a Nay vote. You can't have a Nay vote unless a bill is actually voted on. Also, having just scanned all your posts to this Comments section you were never "...at the risk of repeating myself...", as you never actually said HR 6683 until your post responding to me.

It is specifically going to pay flood insurance claims under the Federal Flood Insurance Program. They need to borrow because the program hasn't been charging enough in premiums to pay for the total,of payouts under the program.

Politicalpony, I don't doubt that you heard this. However, if you read it online in someone's post or heard i from a friend or family member all of them just believed what they heard without bothering to do anything to check out it's validity. All they did was spread a false rumor, maybe innocently, but spread it they did.

Surprisingly, there is no pork attached to HR 41.
No salmon fishermen in Alaska. No new roof for the Smithsonian.

A BILL
To temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN BORROWING AUTHORITY FOR NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.

(a) Section 1309(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is amended by striking `$20,725,000,000' and inserting `$30,425,000,000'.

(b) The amount provided by this section is designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 403(a) of S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2010, and as an emergency pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).

about as much as the bridge to now where and re building the roads in Iraq and Afghan and the cost of the unfunded wars
what is wrong with you repukes

What are you talking about Penny Lane?
If there were an unfunded war, there would be no cost.
And the dreaded bridge to nowhere was never built. You may remember Sarah Palin saying "I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere"

The 20 billion the flood insurance is in debt is the total of claims paid over the premiums charged since the inception of the program. Anything given to people that didn't have insurance as emergency relief isn't included here and if anyone thinks they are going to be made whole, that isn't likely.

Many hail from conservative states
Romney argues that the 47 percent he’s referring to in his sound bite will always vote for Obama, but, according to David A. Graham at The Atlantic, a disproportionate amount of those people actually reside in red states—which typically vote for Republican candidates. Of the 10 states with the highest percentage of people who pay no income tax, nine are red states

It's not aid, but the program is already 20 billion in debt because of the claims paid out to date are that much more than the premiums charged over the same period. Congress had to raise the amount the program could borrow to cover the latest losses. Any emergency relief to uninsured isn't covered by this program and what that will be will be debated in the next bill.

Mr Plunkett, Flood insurance is not the funding source for FEMA. Flood insurance policies are to property owners issued by private insurance companies just as property and auto insurance policies are.

"Why is this considered "aid"? I pay, and dearly so, for flood insurance every year over the last 26 years." Exactly!

Frankly, it does concern me that per NJ officials, "Sandy damaged or destroyed 346,000 housing unites throughout the state, of which more than 72,000 were covered by the NFIP." Surely the overwhelming majority of these houses where in the flood zones of the barrier islands and the bays, lagoons, etc., on the mainland. It seems to me that all of these homeowners of both primary homes and those houses and condos that are vacation properties should have carried flood insurance. While people are required by their mortgage company, 2nd mortgage company, as well as banks issuing home equity lines of credit (to the amount of money in use), there are no such requirements once a person has paid of the mortgage. I realize that flood insurance can be very expensive based on the flood zone a house is in, but that cost is a consideration that a person must take into account when they buy a house in a flood zone. It is no different then the consideration a potential home buyer asks herself/himself "can I afford the utilities on this house," before they buy it. Yes, some people have owned their homes in flood zones for a long time and can no longer afford to keep flood insurance in effect. However, every day people around the country have to make the hard decision as to whether they can afford to stay in their home based on the higher cost to maintain it then that cost was when they first purchased it. The same decision based on the cost of flood insurance is no different.

@Rick. You are incorrect. Flood policies are thru the NFIP. The private insurance carriers are servicing carriers only. They collect the premium, issue the policy, service the claims and are reimbursed by the feds for their services. The adjusters handling the flood claims are required to be certified by the NFIP. So even the carrier who wrote your policy usually do not handle your claims. They only assign the claim to an independent adjusting firm who has certified flood adjusters. Usually those independents do flood claims exclusively.

Sorry i meant Scott Garrett, not Cooper.

@ Rick

Funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere" has continued as of March 2, 2011, in the passing of H.R. 662: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011[4][5][6] by the House of Representatives.

And, has this bridge been built? Is it going to be built?

Ms Lane, Thanks for the quote from Wikipedia

What "extreme delay" are you talking about? The bill in the 112th Congress was only defeated at the end of December. The new bill in the new Congress is already in place.
And, the bill in the current Congress was introduced by Scott Garrett, a Republican.

WHAT? Take a closer look at those election maps. Most of the red states are the wealthier states. The blue states with a higher AVERAGE income also have a much higher number of lower income voters.

Penny Lane and Rick, since neither of you are providing any objective, non-partial sources for what you're saying as to what states have the most poor that fall within the 47%ers, your posts on it have no substance.

The degree of subjective politics that have been posted in the comments by a number of people has risen to a point of having no bearing on the subject of this news article - "Congress Approves $9.7 Billion in Insurance Funding to Aid Sandy Victims."

Saying anything political here beyond pointing out that Republican party holds the majority in the House of Representatives, that Majority Speaker John Boehner tabled a pending aid package until after the New Year, and the number of Yes and No votes by each party on HR41 goes beyond what is needed here. And, yes I stand guilty of having had contributed to that needlessness in one of my posts here.

You forgot the PORK thrown at NASCAR (a real necessity for the fiscal cliff).

Then there is the PORK included in the additional monies that will be voted on in the coming weeks such as money for the Alaskan fisheries. When did Alaska feel the brunt of Sandy? It is truly amazing how free Washington is with our money, especially as this area contributes far more than most to the Feds. Now that we need it back, everyone's hand is in the till as well.

HEY CYNIC, NASCAR is a necessity. It is one of the biggest spectator sports in the country. NASCAR accounts for huge sales of beer, corn dogs, overpriced tee shirts and hats, and a lot of other items needed to watch a bunch of cars making left turns.

Chuck, I hear what you are saying as to no FEMA worker or flood insurance agent contacting you to date. However, your statement that, "homeowners with their primary residance damaged and no insurance got immediate FEMA grant money to get their houses repaired," is more than a bit misleading. From every indication of what has been reported (and I'll not saying that media reports are the gospel truth), the FEMA grant money provided to date has mostly been emergency funds, not funds in the amount that one can get their house fully repaired or rebuilt.

Most of the 47% are seniors, veterans receiving disability, lower grade military and lower income working families with children.

PL,
So, I guess democrats don't live in red states, or if they do they vote republican. Actually, most states are red but their cities are blue. What percentage of taxes do you think are paid from urban areas? And, what percentage of those areas vote democrat? In Philly it was 86%. The good news in the red states is the suburbs vote.

Just look at a red/blue map of NJ. Hudson, Essex, Camden and Mercer counties are blue, the rest are red.

Look at the map by counties.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/2012-election-county-by-county/
Key states such as PA, OH, IN, IL and FL all were blue last year, but it was the population centers that voted democrat.
And look at Nevada. The only parts of the state that voted democrat were Los Vegas and Reno.

REALLY?
Did you write out a check to FEMA for that flood insurance you have been paying for the past 26 years? Or did you write them to an insurance company?
How would you explain these? Are these insurance companies selling something you don't need?

http://www.allstate.com/home-insurance/flood-insurance-main.aspx

http://www.usinsuranceonline.com/home-insurance/policy-types/flood-insurance.php?kno=2&wsc=1&adv=16&kw=[flood%20insurance]&tk=TVNOLGJpbmcgLSBob21lLEJpbmcgLSBIb21lIC0gRmxvb2QsZmxvb2QgaW5zdXJhbmNlLFtmbG9vZCBpbnN1cmFuY2Vd&heading=Get%20Flood%20Insurance%20-%20Free%20Online%20Quotes&size=30&top=34&KID=32fcd428-f926-a528-32c6-00006db25735

everyone should know the feds have the national flood insurance program and it uses contractors (insurance companies, adjusters etc.. ) to run it. it is not solvent (like the post office or any other federal entity (16Trillion $ deficits ring a bell). we are a welfare country plain and simple. so we buy a stamp and the letter gets delivered and it costs more than we pay. we buy flood insurance and it costs more than we pay. this how democrats voted to run the country for all these years. tax and spend and give away. i dont see republicans supporting all that spending and taxing. America chose to be a welfare country the last 2 presidential elections and urban elections for decades. this is who we are as an american republic. or are we greek, spanish, french or australian socialists. For the last 4 years i have taken government handouts without a worry because this is what america is. we are at a new low as a people. now i'll take the flood insurance money, FEMA, etc... because i was told that is what america is all about. Next I will get my free healthcare. until we are all speaking chinese. apahy has won.

@ Rick

The flood insurance program is backed by the federal government as reinsurance for the private companies that write the policies. If they reinsurance wasn't there, the companies would issue flood policies. Many companies won't write in those areas anymore because they don't think the business is worth the fees they collect on administering the policies even with the reinsurance.

@Rick. Your 2nd source calearly sates in past, "Like other types of insurance, flood insurance is purchased directly from an agent. In order to offer this type of coverage, the agency must be an active member of the NFIP. So, Given the Allstate sort you provided, Active is a member of the Nation Flood Insurance Program.

Your own references support that there are no private insurance companies. Companies that offer flood themselves, using their own money to pay out claims, etc. They are members of the NFIP and administering the policies and adjusting the claims, but it's NFIP money, through FEMA (and then actually the Homeland Security Department), that provide the money to pay out claims.

I don't know who here has a flood insurance policy, I do. Therefore, I can tell you that when my company sends out my new anual endorsement page to attach to my policy, FEMA documents are included with it. One is an easy to read short booklet called:

National Flood Insurance Program

Flood Insurance Claim Handbook

FEMA F-687 / (insert date here of new edition if applicable from the prior year)

While not the specific subject of comments here, but so in comments on other related Patch articles about Sandy, the handbook on page 2 under a section called "What To Do Before A Flood" clearly states, "Move any valuable items out of your basement. Flood insurance only covers items normally found in a basement, such as a furnace or washer and dryer. Personal items are not covered."

I think Mr Plunkett and others here want FEMA(AKA the American Taxpayer) to pay to rebuild just what they had, exactly where they had it.
And if or when the next major storm hits they will want FEMA(AKA the American Taxpayer) to pay to do it all over again.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

That is not a quote or definition from Einstein, einstein.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/26032.html
If you know who did say it perhaps you could enlighten the people at
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/26032.html
and several other sites that attribute it to him.

Attributing this quote to Einstein would appear to me to be an attempt to give it credibility. It seems to be a quote from Narcotics Anonymous. See here:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_first_said_that_the_definition_of_insanity_is_to_do_the_same_thing_over_and_over_and_expect_different_results

and here:

http://tymora42.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/who-said-the-definition-of-insanity-is-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-and-expecting-different-results/

And of course, Narcotics Anonymous would never have 'borrowed' the statement for Einstein.

And, regardless of who said it, the statement does make sense.

Apparently mental health advocacy groups are not so fond of the statement but, hey, if it makes sense to you...you go, Rick! Personally, I prefer a little more accuracy in my statements and references than, "Hey, it doesn't matter who said it, I think it's cool."

I have seen that quote attributed to Einstein.
But hey, who am I to dispute Legend-in-his-Own-Mind Paul Di.

Give it a rest, Head, your ignorance is showing. But, hey, if you have seen it attributed to Einstein than I guess it must be true. What, did you read it in the daily paper or see it on local TV news?

Oh come on now. Paulie must be right. He cited a wiki source. What could be more accurate.

Hey Paulie, I didn't say it was cool. I said it makes sense. No wonder you don't really know where the quote originated. You couldn't even get my comment right when it was in front of you.

As I said, it makes sense. If you start your car and back out of the garage before you open the door more than once you probably aren't playing with a full deck.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/insanity-definition_n_1159927.html

Yeah, but Rick saw it on the internet. ("Bone Jore!")

By the way, Rick, your quote from the site you cite should have quotation marks on the parts you quote including the paranthetical "attributed" which essentially means there is NO evidence the quotation is accurate but somebody said Einstein said it. Got that?

You might also read the resume and other qualifications of the people running your source including their experience in grocery stocking and parts delivery but nothing resembling an academic, linguistic or historical education or experience. The quote itself is really pretty lame and simplistic, but no doubt fit right in to the AA mindset.

Thank you Ms ralebird for correcting my punctuation. I will try to keep that in mind in the future.

By the way Ms ralebird, I think you meant "but no doubt fit right INTO the AA mindset."

But then, I would have to ask if that would include members of Congress and other prominent Americans who are recovering alcoholics.

Well golly gee Petey, I was hoping that most people would be able to recognize sarcasm when they saw it.
BTW, since most NASCAR races are 500 miles on a 2 1/2 mile track they only drive 200 laps. :)

Petey,
What school did you attend? Didn't they teach about capital letters and punctuation?

I think you are absolutely right as to FEMA's role in disasters and that no one, especially vacation home owners should expect FEMA to completely repair or replace their house.

Now, that is as to FEMA funds when a person doesn't have a flood insurance policy to paid for covered damages. It does get confusing as flood insurance policies are funded by FEMA who in turn is funded by federal tax dollars. However, the policies are administered by various insurance companies that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. I've had flood insurance for 23 years as I live across from a county park with a lake in it. I've never needed to make a claim, so I don't know if I did whether I would get a settlement check with the insurance company's name on it, (Fidelity National Property & Casualty Insurance Company in my case), or with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on it. Bottom line is that no matter the administering insurance company, all flood insurance policies are part of the National Flood Insurance Program.

Mike,

I received an advance on my flood damage and the check came from the insurance company. I am sure they petition FEMA to recover those funds plus their fee plus the adjusters compensation.

Thank you Jack

Reinsurance, whether from FEMA or a private reinsurance company pay the insurance company that issued the policy for amounts in excess of assets or liability.

I take that you mean your premium payment as opposed to a payment made to you for a claim. I've never sent a premium payment direct for my flood insurance as it's paid out of the escrow account with my mortgage company.

Most people who have a mortgage pay their insurance and taxes through their mortgage payments. If fact, many mortgage companies/banks require that to insure that their investment is covered.