Sandy Aid Vote Set for Friday

Boehner caves to pressure and agrees to a vote on aid for Sandy relief in the House on Friday.

Published

6 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

US Politics, United States

People

John Boehner, Chris Christie

Places

United States of America

Transcript

It's been a long week for the House majority leader... Late Tuesday John Boehner helped pass a bill to avoid sending America off a fiscal cliff, but he seemed to forget about a vote on another important bill, a relief package for the victims of Superstorm Sandy. After promising a vote to approve $60 billion in aid for states damaged by the storm, Boehner canceled the vote, and found himself at the center of another storm. Representatives from both sides of the isle criticised his decision. But perhaps none felt the sting more than New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who apparently phoned Boehner four times on Tuesday night to urge him not to cancel the vote. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE SAYING: "There's only 1 group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims. The House majority and their Speaker, John Boehner." Boehner has since scheduled a vote Friday... when House representatives will likely approve a $9 billion dollar downpayment for storm related support. A second vote is scheduled for mid-January for the remaining $51 billion.