WIBC - Indiana Congressman Supports Storm Damage Assistance if Requested

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By Ray Steele

After touring parts of Indiana damaged by Sunday's tornadoes, one Indiana congressman says he will be consistent with his past votes to see federal budget cuts if relief money exceeds a certain level.

Republican Congressman Todd Rokita toured storm damage in his district on Monday; Komomo, Logansport and Lafayette, and says if Governor Pence asks President Obama for a federal disaster declaration, "you bet I'll be behind it."

Rokita was criticized by some in both parties back in January for voting against $50 billion in supplemental emergency money for victims of Sandy in the northeast. He argued that since the money was not originally in the federal budget, it should be offset with cuts from other parts of the budget. The congressman says the same standard applies to his 4th District. "I will probably be offering amendments if it goes to an emergency funding situation on what will offset those costs, what we'll be willing to live without" Rokita said, adding that it was too early to tell if that would be the case.

The initial reports of damage across Indiana and eleven other states that were hit by Sunday's storms do not appear to approach that caused by Sandy, so enough money may have been allocated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover it already. "Funds are in place; money has been appropriated for disasters across the country," said Rokita, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles budget writing. He says if money in addition to what FEMA already has is necessary, it's only fair that another part of the budget be sacrificed, "or else, we're simply taxing kids who don't yet exist."

Rokita was one of 67 House Republicans to vote against the January relief bill for Sandy because it did not contain offsetting budget cuts. Conservative groups like the Club For Growth had warned House members against supporting the Sandy bill or else face potential opposition in the next election. The Club For Growth was among the groups that successfully targeted longtime Senator Dick Lugar in last year's Republican primary.

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