Ida’s devastation leads to renewed calls for federal infrastructure spending

Dive Short:

• In the wake of final week’s devastation from Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden, governors and congressional lawmakers have ramped up efforts to spotlight the worth of new federal infrastructure paying.
• The huge storm introduced historic flooding as it moved up the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, killing at least 60 people today and leaving hundreds more homeless and without the need of electric power. In towns which include New York Metropolis, rainfall from the storm remaining municipal drainage units not able to deal with the floodwaters.
• Elected leaders from the influenced states reported the storm shown the need for the $1 trillion infrastructure invoice now pending in the House of Representatives. Residence Speaker Nancy Pelosi has claimed that lawmakers will vote on it, as very well as a companion $3.5 trillion reconciliation invoice, by the finish of the thirty day period.

Dive Insight:

“I you should not at any time want yet again to see Niagara Falls dashing down the stairs of one particular of the New York Town subways,” New York Gov. Kathy. Hochul reported past 7 days for the duration of a briefing protected by The New York Instances. “I cannot avoid it ideal now, but I know we have to just take motion to mitigate that.”

She claimed these styles of storms are turning into additional commonplace.

“Some people have known as this a 500-calendar year party. I do not buy it,” stated Hochul. “No extended will we say, that would not come about once more in our life time. This could virtually come about next week.”

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana urged his fellow Republicans to get on board with the federal infrastructure package final 7 days. “If we’re likely to make our nation far more resilient to natural disasters, whichever they are, we have to commence planning now,” according to ABC News. “I am sure hoping that Republicans search about my state, see this injury and say, ‘If you can find cash for resiliency, revenue to harden the grid, funds to enable sewer and h2o, then possibly this is a little something we should really be for.”

In a separate visual appearance, Senate Vast majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., attributed the storm’s ferocity to world wide warning and climate modify.

“World-wide warming is on us,” said Senate Greater part Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “When you get two document rainfalls in a week (in New York Metropolis), it can be not just coincidence. When you get all the variations that we have witnessed in weather, that is not a coincidence. … It’s heading to get worse and even worse and worse, except if we do one thing about it.”

Touring Ida’s aftermath in Louisiana very last week, Biden called for the bill’s “historic financial commitment” in highways, railways and bridges, as properly as vitality and clean drinking water. The president is scheduled to visit New York and New Jersey Tuesday to see firsthand the destruction there, according to Reuters.