Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose home state of Vermont suffered severe floods from the remnants of Hurricane Irene, isn’t big on Republican Rep. Eric Cantor’s plan to offset federal disaster relief with cuts from the budget.
“I think that is totally absurd, and I find it ironic that the same people who are making that type of proposal are the type of people who voted to bailout Wall Street, no offset,” Sanders told TPM on Thursday.
“I think when an emergency strikes anywhere in America and communities have been devastated, we’ve got to help rebuild those communities,” he continued. “That’s what we’ve always done, and that’s what we’ve got to do now.”
“I think that position is a very minority position,” Sanders said. I think most members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats — know that when states are devastated, it is the responsibility of our entire county to come together to help them.”
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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