The High Cost Of Hurricanes
Wednesday, September 21, 2005JEFF YASTINE: Only three category five hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since records have been kept on the subject. If Rita becomes the fourth, the economic damage will come on top of Katrina`s toll. As the debate over how to pay that bill is underway in Washington, in Texas, evacuations are underway as well. Darren Gersh reports.
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: These are the first of what`s expected to be one million people ordered to get out of Rita`s way. The president urged citizens to heed the warnings to evacuate.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We hope and pray that hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm, but we`ve got to be ready for the worst.
GERSH: First, Katrina, now Rita, it`s an understatement to say the massive storms have upended the nation`s agenda. The fight to reset priorities is just beginning. Conservatives in the House of Representatives today launched "operation offset," calling for spending cuts to cover the cost of the hurricanes. Some even want to postpone or scale back the new Medicare drug benefit.
REP. ZACH WAMP, (R) TENNESSEE: The big dollars are in the prescription drug bill, if you want to look at big dollars. There is no question, if we could redo it, replace it with a more limited benefit to help needy seniors, that would be the ideal thing.
GERSH: But the top Republican in the House rejected that idea out of hand. He also brushed aside calls to strip out special projects in the highway bill.
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Some people say we ought to do away with the highway bill. It`s exactly the highway bill that we need, especially in southern Mississippi and other parts to rebuild the infrastructure.
GERSH: Democrats want to abandon many of the Bush tax cuts. Republicans fire back that would tank the economy. Meanwhile, members of the congressional black caucus say spending cuts in Medicaid and other programs would hurt the survivors of Katrina.
REP. MELVIN WATT, (D) NORTH CAROLINA: We will oppose any cuts that we believe will disproportionately impact poor people and African Americans.
GERSH: Now with Rita, the likelihood of cutting spending to cover the cost of rescue and rebuilding for both storms seems even more remote.
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R) FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We`re in an emergency if we`ve ever been in an emergency. This is the biggest natural disaster to ever hit our country and we are an insurer of last resort in many instances.
GERSH: The president emphasized his commitment to his pre-storm agenda by meeting briefly today with his commission on Social Security reform, but the White House is quick to add that hurricane Katrina and now Rita remain top priority. Darren Gersh, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.
