Grimm Says He’ll Take On Fellow GOP Members Over Irene Relief

The Brooklyn Politics reported this morning that Rep. Michael Grimm (R- New York) says he’s willing to go head to head with members of his own party who want new funding for disaster relief, including for Hurricane Irene, to be held onto while budget cuts in other areas are deliberated.

House majority leader Eric Cantor (R- Virginia) says that making sure that funding for the relief has been found before cutting a check is no different than what any group with finite resources would do.

From Fox News:

“Just like any family would operate when its stuck with disaster,” Cantor told Fox News last Monday. “It finds the money it needs to take care of a sick loved one and goes without buying a new car or put a new addition on a house. We’re going to find the money — we’re just going to need to make sure that there are savings elsewhere to continue to do so.”

Grimm, who has received support, albeit reluctantly, from local Brooklyn Democrats for his position on the issue, says he just wants to get hurricane relief to his constituents in Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn ASAP.

From Brooklyn Paper:

“I’m not going to pull any punches [but] I have a fight on my hands,” said Grimm, who added that he would vote against any bill that holds emergency expenditures hostage to other budget reductions.”

What do you think?

Are Republicans merely getting their house (pun intended) in order?

Or should expediting disaster relief to victims – including in this case friends and neighbors – always take precedent over deciding where the funds will come from?

Rep. Michael Grimm represents New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes all of Staten Island. In Brooklyn, the 13th District includes parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Gravesend.