Disaster bill highlights inconsistency in voting records

WASHINGTON — A $19 billion disaster aid bill that’s still crawling through Congress highlights the inconsistency of lawmakers, mostly conservatives, who stood resolute against such aid six years ago but demand it now that their states are under water. Ted Cruz of Texas, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina swung against a huge, $50 billion-plus Sandy relief bill that passed Congress in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s reelection, lambasting Democrats and others for swelling the measure with bloat. “Unfortunately, more clowns showed up today to once again delay disaster relief for the states and farmers devastated by the storms of 2018,” said Georgia GOP conservative Rep. Austin Scott, who opposed the Sandy measure in a 2013 tally in which 179 House Republicans voted no. “This bill will pass the House next week, and President Trump will sign it.” Scott made his remarks on Twitter Tuesday after House GOP conservatives for the second time held up fast-track passage of the current disaster aid bill. Years later, it’s exactly those sorts of funds that Texas Republicans like Cruz, Sen. John Cornyn and several Houston-area House members demanded in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, including “resiliency” accounts designed to prevent future floods and disasters.