GOP shows hypocrisy on Sandy relief

>>> we have stood with the citizens of florida and alabama, mississippi and louisiana, iowa and vermont, california and missouri in their times of need. now i trust they will stand with us.

>> how do you argue with that? governor of new jersey chris christie giving his state of the state address earlier. and next week congress is set to vote on more disaster relief for victims of hurricane sandy . just last friday, congress approved a $9.7 billion measure that would provide some relief by keeping, just keeping the national flood insurance program solvent. that's what that vote was about. 67 members opposed the measure. they were all republican. over half of those no votes supported, yes, supported disaster relief in their own states. think progress compiled the list. among the bold faced names, here he is, paul ryan of wisconsin. you know, he voted no on sandy relief, yet asked for a disaster declaration following a flood in his home state of wisconsin ? marsha blackburn of tennessee, she too voted no, asked for disaster assistance following a flood in tennessee. louie gohmert . you can always depend on a no vote there. he requested a broader disaster declaration following hurricane ike. jim jordan of ohio, a no vote, requested a disaster declaration after storms in his state. can you believe this? tom price of georgia a no? he voted no for sandy relief? he called for disaster relief after tornadoes. jim sense sensenbrenner. joe wilson of north carolina also a no vote supported usda drought relief to help those farmers out. then there is steve palazzo of mississippi . palazzo represents the coastal region of his state, an area completely devastated by hurricane katrina . palazzo voted no on sandy relief because he says he is worried about the nation's debt. the bigger picture he says is we also have to recognize that we have a financial disaster that is looming in this country that i believe personally in my heart -- in his heart -- is going to be greater than any disaster that has ever hit the u.s. well, when katrina struck back in 2005 , this congressional member wasn't serving in congress at the time. he was in charge of finances at biloxi 's public housing authority. palazzo asked for millions of dollars in federal relief, despite the country's debt at the time, because he knew the people of mississippi needed it. he said "we will rebuild and we'll provide homes for those displaced, but we cannot do that until it is funded", palazzo said at the time. the miami herald reports that harrison county , which includes biloxi got $72 million in federal funding just for public housing after hurricane katrina . this gentleman's hypocrisy on disaster relief has not gone unnoticed back home. you see, the folks of palazzo 's district aren't too happy about his no vote. his hometown newspaper, the sun herald of biloxi went even further. we doubt any congressional district in this nation has ever had as much federal distance following a disaster as mississippi . how is it possible to speak of pinching pennies when he knows the immeasurable value of money flowing quickly into a disaster area ? palazzo tried to explain his vote a different way.

>> it is not that i don't support the sandy relief effort. i just believe we should have offsets.

>> offsets. wait a minute. there was no talk of offsets when this congressman appealed for relief money following hurricane isaac last august. and there was no talk of offsets when palazzo took to the house floor last may, asking his fellow members to support an extension of the national flood insurance program .

>> nfip provides flood insurance to more than 20,000 communities across this nation, including more than 50,000 families in my district. many of my constituents in mississippi are still dealing with the effects of hurricane katrina . they have experienced record flooding in recent years, and we are fast approaching another hurricane season . we have no other choice. we must act now. so it is out of necessity that i support this short-term extension.

>> you know, that guy was right. the national flood insurance program is an important program that should transcend politics. it helps families and small business owners get become on their feet after a disaster by paying flood insurance claims. last week's sandy relief vote was to fund the national flood insurance program . and yet this congressman and 66 other republicans, what did they do? they voted no. palazzo is now on heavy-duty damage control, reportedly touring sandy affected areas today to show his support. but the people of new york and new jersey don't need a photo op . they need his vote so they can get the money and the resources they need to rebuild, just like they did back in his state. former new york senator al d'amato had this to say. they're a bunch of jackasses. every one of the 67 who voted no are nothing more than pawns of a philosophy that is not backed up by facts. sir, you need to run again.

>>> coming up, in a new poll, congress is getting lower ratings than cockroaches and head lice , and the next fiscal deadline is just around the corner. bob shrum and howard finemenman join me for the