Tierney Blasts GOP on Sandy Relief

Congress managed to approve a deal that prevented the fiscal cliff, but it still has not passed a bill granting aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy nearly 70 days after the storm.

Amid a firestorm of anger, including harsh words from governors of New York and New Jersey, the House is expected to hold a vote for some of the relief Friday and wait until later this month for the rest.

The Senate has already passed a bill for Sandy relief, but the House decided not to have a vote on it during this legislative session. And Congressman John Tierney issued a statement lashing out at House leadership for it.

“House Republican Leadership is running out the clock on the 112th Congress without providing much-needed relief to families and businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy and our fishermen," Tierney said. "This is shameful. With bipartisan support, the Senate passed a Hurricane Sandy relief bill, which included $150 million for the fisheries disasters declared by the Department of Commerce. There were signals that the House was going to follow suit, but today House Republican Leadership reversed course and opted to do nothing."

New Jersey Gov, Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo calling out House leadership on failure to act.

"There is only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: the House majority and their speaker, John Boehner," Christie said. "This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. Natural disasters happen in red states and blue states and states with Democratic governors and Republican governors. We respond to innocent victims of natural disasters, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans."