The Christie Administration released the following statement regarding AshBrit’s contract with the State for the cleanup from Superstorm Sandy:
Taking Emergency and Long-Term Action To Assist Debris Removal
Competitively Bid Emergency Contract With AshBritt Allowed New Jersey Towns To Take Immediate Action In Addressing Debris Removal In An Efficient And Responsible Manner
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AshBritt Had Extensive Experience And Unique Capabilities To Respond To Major Disasters:
On Tuesday, from 9am to 5pm, Governor Christie’s Office will be holding a “Mobile Cabinet” at the Union Beach Hose Company 1 located at 1224 Florence Avenue. We will have staff from multiple departments of state government and FEMA that can assist with your insurance issues, help answer questions about flood maps or any other issue related to recovery and rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy. This is a great opportunity to help you, your family, and neighbors on the road to recovery.
Owners may want to delay elevating houses until FEMA grants are announced
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon today advised homeowners affected by Sandy that they may want to hold off on mitigation repairs until the specifics of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (“HMGP”) are announced. The HMGP provides grants to States and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The program enables mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.
“These grants can help fund elevating houses and other, expensive mitigation work,” explained O’Scanlon. “Once the state advertises that HMGP funding is available for mitigation projects in the state, those interested in applying to the HMGP should contact their local government to begin the application process. Local governments should then contact their State Hazard Mitigation Officer so the needs of each town can be assessed.
HMGP funds may be used to fund projects that will reduce or eliminate the losses from future disasters. Projects must provide a long-term solution to a problem, for example, elevation of a home to reduce the risk of flood damages. In addition, a project’s potential savings must be more than the cost of implementing the project
“HMGP grants can fund up to 75% of a total project,” O’Scanlon told. “Homeowners need to seriously think before shelling out a lot of money to elevate their homes. If they can wait, these grants may be a great way to offset the costs of expensive mitigation work. While not everyone is approved for a grant, it looks like New Jersey may be receiving a sizeable amount of aid from the Sandy Aid Package. It only makes sense for homeowners to consider these grants as a possible source of assistance when planning expensive home repairs.”
Aid Passes 241-180 Assists New Jersey residents from worst natural disaster in their history
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives tonight approved the full disaster recovery funding that will help the victims of Superstorm Sandy rebuild their communities.
“Sandy was the most destructive storm ever in our region and arguably the second or third most costly in America’s history,” said Congressman Chris Smith, R- Robbinsville, N.J., who represents the Fourth Congressional District—the hard-hit area of northern Ocean County & southern Monmouth County where Sandy made landfill. “We are not crying wolf here, I say to my colleagues. There are huge gaps—people who have filed for insurance claims—and find insurance covered only this much. How do they ever recover?” Smith, who took the House floor no less than three times today to speak in favor of passage, pointed out that the Governor’s office estimated the damage in New Jersey alone to be $36.9 billion. Click here to watch Cong. Smith’s appeal to his House colleagues to pass the Sandy aid.
Two votes today providing $17 billion and $34 billion would supplement $9.7 billion already provided by both Houses of Congress Jan. 4, for a total of $60 billion emergency spending aid package.
“There is an immediate need to rebuild and restore. In particular, our residents and neighbors need assistance with temporary housing and permanent home restoration,” said Smith. “The Jersey Shore needs to be open for business by or near Memorial Day, or else many will suffer economic hardships, including losing jobs or businesses.”
The House of Representatives approved the first of two bills expected to be voting on today which, if also approved in the U.S. Senate and signed by the Presdient, will provide $50 billion in federal funds to New Jersey, New York and Connecticut to rebuild from the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy.
The $17 billion approved this afternoon will pay for Sandy clean-up, dredging, small business loans and infrastructure repairs. The $33 billion to be voted on tonight will be for the longer term rebuilding effort.
The bills were split in two to accommodate members of the Republican caucus who support the $17 billion, but not the $33 billion.
According to The Star Ledger, New Jersey Republican Congressmen Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2) and Jon Runyan (NJ-3) ripped into their fellow Republicans for withholding support of the disaster assistance.
“To my colleagues who have sought funding themselves and now say we need to change the rules of the game: shame on you,” Rep. Frank LoBiondo (D-N.J.) said after the vote. “We need to have a new caucus, the hypocritical caucus.”
Rep. Jon Runyan (R-3rd Dist.) said he knew more than 30 of his Republican colleagues who oppose the bill even though they sought similar aid when disaster struck their districts.
“Mr. Speaker — I would say to my friends — why should New Jersey and New York be treated any differently? ” Runyon said. “My friends should ask themselves what would they do if it was their district that suffered the amount of catastrophic loss that many of the families and businesses in my district now face.”
Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone said that Republicans that opposed the aid do not understand the extent of the damage.
Monmouth County property owners have until tomorrow, January 9, 2013 to notify the Monmouth County Board of Taxation of “material damage” caused by Superstorm Sandy and to receive a reduction in their property tax assessment for 2013.
The Tax Board has been surveying properties in heavily damaged areas and already reduced assessments without owners’ notification. I checked on a properties in Highlands and Keansburg this morning. The assessment on the Highlands property had been reduced by 30% and the Keansburg property by 15%.
If your property was materially damaged by Sandy, call the Tax Board at 732-431-7401 or submit your property information here online.
Senate President says Christie prayed for Hurricane Sandy to strike. FDU poll indicates New Jersey voters don’t think much of Sweeney.
Photo credit: nomblog.com
Senate President Steve Sweeney said at a press conference today that Governor Chris Christie “prayed a lot and got lucky” that Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey, thereby enabling the governor to gloss over the problems that were facing the state prior to the storm, according to a report on NJ.com.
“His jobs package is a hurricane,” said Sweeny,”I guess he prayed a lot and got lucky that a storm came.”
Sweeney, along with Senators Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Nina Gill (D-Essex) were speaking to the press prior to the Christie’s State of the State address which will be delivered tomorrow. Sweeney immediately apologised for the “prayed a lot and got lucky” line, but went on to say that he expected the Governor to “try to convince everyone the sun is shining when it’s raining,” when he addresses the legislature tomorrow.
Evidently, most of New Jersey voters think the sun is shining and Sweeney is all wet.
In an FDU Public Mind Poll released today, 61% of New Jersey voters, including 55% of Democrats and 56% of Independents think the state is heading in the right direction. 26% think the state is on the wrong track and 13% are unsure.
Of the 700 voters surveyed, 73% approve of the job that Christie is doing.
FDU polled hypothetical match ups for the coming gubernatorial race between Christie, former Acting Governor Dick Codey, Senator Barbara Buono and Sweeney.
Codey, the best known of the Democrats scored best, losing to Christie 59%-26%. 55% of those surveyed were familiar with Codey, who served out Jim McGreevey’s term as governor from November 2004 until Jon Corzine took office in January of 2006. Of those who know of Codey, 56% think favorably about him while 18% have an unfavorable impression.
44% have heard of Sweeney, but of those only 25% like him. 39% of those who have heard of Sweeney think unfavorably about him.
The poll is so bad for Sweeney that Barbara Buono beat him. Only 28% of the voters polled are familiar with Buono, yet she scored better against Christie than Sweeney did. Christie beat Buono 64%-21% with 15% undecided. Sweeney coundn’t break 20%, losing to the Governor by an embarrassing 65%-19% with 16% unsure.
Ramapo Supervisor & Oceanport Council President Express Outrage
Suffern, N.Y. – Town of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence (Democrat) and Joseph Irace, Council President – Borough of Oceanport, N.J. (Republican), have issued a joint statement expressing their outrage at the House of Representatives’ failure to pass the $60.4 Billion Aid Package to provide immediate help for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
“While House Speaker Boehner fiddles, thousands of New York and New Jersey residents’ anger burns, and their suffering continues as they feel abandoned by their elected officials said Supervisor St. Lawrence. The House of Representatives, the so-called people’s house, has turned its back on the American people” he added.
“As a Republican elected official in New Jersey, I cannot fathom the insensitivity of the House of Representatives by not taking action on the Sandy Aid Package. Disaster relief is not a political issue. We have residents still displaced from their homes and in need of help and yesterday’s actions by The House of Representatives are inexcusable and unconscionable. I, along with Ramapo Supervisor St. Lawrence, am asking the House to act on this desperately needed aid package immediately” stated Council President Irace.
Congressman Chris Smith told MMM that at a meeting held with Speaker John Boehner this afternoon the Speaker promised that action will be taken in January by the House of Representatives on the $60 billion Sandy Relief package that Boehner stopped the House from voting on last night causing a uproar within the Republican Party.
Smith said that Boehner promised that $9.7 billion to restore FEMA reserves will be up for a vote on this Friday, January 4th and that the rest of the $60 billion package will be on the House’s schedule, in two parts, $16.3 billion and $33 billion, on January 15th.
Smith spoke on the House floor late on Tuesday night to implore Boehner to schedule the vote.
House Speaker John Boehner was more effective with tears.
Our nation never should have gotten into the “fiscal cliff” mess. We got there in large measure because Boehner couldn’t control his temper and would not return President Obama’s phone calls after a White House meeting in July of 2011. Boehner said Obama “moved the goal post” after he thought a deal was done. Obama said that there were $1.65 trillion in spending cuts in the deal that Boehner walked from. The “fiscal cliff” deal that passed yesterday raised $650 billion in revenue and reduced spending by $15 billion. Our economy would have been better off if Boehner had been able to control his temper in July of 2011.
Politico reports that Boehner told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “to go fuck himself” on Friday as the two leaders of the House and Senate were entering the White House to negotiate. Congressman Frank LoBiondo(R-NJ-2) told PolitickerNJ that Boehner shouted at him yesterday when he asked the Speaker about the delay in the Sandy Relief Bill voting. Congressman Peter King (R-NY) went on FoxNews this morning to declare his independence from the Republican Party and urge donors to withhold donations to the GOP. Governor Chris Christie called Boehner’s lack of action on the Sandy Bill “petty politics,” “disgusting,” and “duplicitous.”
John Boehner has demonstrated that he does not have the temperament nor skill to be a leader of the House of Representatives or the highest ranking Republican elected official in the nation.
![speaking_on_floor_about_Sandy_Aid[1]](http://www.moremonmouthmusings.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/speaking_on_floor_about_Sandy_Aid1-300x217.jpg)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives tonight approved the full disaster recovery funding that will help the victims of Superstorm Sandy rebuild their communities.