President Barack Obama toured flood-ravaged areas of New Jersey on Sunday as he urged that Washington?s dysfunctional political culture not be permitted to interfere in relief efforts.
?I know that there?s been some talk about whether there?s going to be a slowdown in getting funding out here, emergency relief,? Obama said while standing on a bridge in hard-hit Paterson, N.J.
Continue Reading?And the last thing that the residents here of Paterson or the residents of Vermont or the residents of upstate New York need is Washington politics getting in the way of us making sure that we are doing what we can to help communities that have been badly affected.?
Obama appeared to be alluding to comments from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and other Republicans who have suggested that any increase in federal disaster relief funds being quickly depleted by a series of tornadoes and storms must be paid for with offsetting budget cuts.
Obama also indicated that the debate over whether the threat posed by the Hurricane Irene was exaggerated by forecasters or the media should not obscure the devastation it has wrought on those who were hit the hardest.
?We know it could have been worse, but we should not underestimate the heartache that?s going through a lot of of these communities and affecting a lot of these families,? Obama said.
As Obama spoke Sunday, he was flanked by Gov. Chris Christie, who has so far rebuffed persistent urging by Republicans that he enter the 2012 presidential race. The New Jersey governor, who has offered praise for the Federal Emergency Management Agency?s response to the flooding nodded silently as Obama addressed the media.
Obama toured the area briefly by air from Marine One and later viewed flood-damaged homes in Wayne and Paterson before heading to a Lowe?s store parking lot where FEMA officials were distributing supplies and providing medical help to local residents.
?We saw the contents of so many homes sitting on the street in front of the houses ? the homes that were flooded,? said Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), who represents nearby Bergen County and accompanied Obama on his tour Sunday.
?You go block after block and mile after mile and see these household goods ? sodden and destroyed household goods now lying on the side of the road. ? It?s a powerful reminder of what these people have suffered,? he told POLITICO.
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