Sandy Aid Shouldn’t Pay for Bad Beach Building

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to resume discussion this week on the second part of an emergency spending bill to provide for recovery from Hurricane Sandy. Clearly, a significant amount of aid will be needed to repair the storm damage and help many people put their lives back together.

Unfortunately, the bill under consideration goes far beyond this immediate need. The House will vote on the legislation in two stages: $17 billion in largely emergency spending, then an additional $33.6 billion -- in an amendment offered by Rodney Frelinghuysen, a New Jersey Republican -- for a variety of projects.