Getting the Message?

Bill Frist’s chief budget aide said today that federal spending on Hurricane Katrina reconstruction and relief may total only $100 billion, not the $200 billion that has been widely reported:

At a conference on Katrina reconstruction, [Bill] Hoagland said an estimate frequently cited on Capitol Hill that federal recovery costs would hit $200 billion “has no basis in analysis.”
He warned that Congress, which in six days this month approved $62.3 billion in emergency aid to Gulf Coast states, should be more careful before rushing through another disaster assistance package that the White House is expected to request in October.

Hoagland also expressed support for balancing at least some of the new spending with cuts elsewhere, although he warned that this would be “tough.” I suppose it will be tough, unless Senators and Congressmen perceive that there is a groundswell of public insisence on fiscal responsibility in connection with hurricane relief.
Via Power Line News.

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