Disaster relief again delayed by a Republican

May 28-- May 28--PANAMA CITY -- Once again a Republican member of the U.S. House outside Florida stalled a disaster relief bill. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) objected Tuesday to a unanimous consent needed to pass a supplemental disaster relief bill.

"If the Speaker of this House felt this was must-pass legislation, the Speaker of this House should have called a vote on this bill before sending every member of Congress on recess for 10 days and I object," said Massie.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also blocked an initial unanimous consent attempt for similar reasons Friday, angering Hurricane Michael victims in Bay County who took to a Texas newspaper and other platforms to vent their frustration.

Businessmen from Bay County took out an ad Tuesday in the Austin American-Statesman to criticize Roy and draw attention to the destruction still present in the Florida Panhandle. The ad said Florida Chief Financial Officer and Bay County native Jimmy Patronis helped Texans after Hurricane Harvey, while Roy "served himself with a political stunt that prevented relief to the suffering victims in Florida."

Randall McElheney, a pharmacist listed as one of the people who paid for the ad, said what Roy did was "terrible." The ad was taken out to alert his constituents and so Hurricane Michael victims had a voice.

The bill needed a unanimous consent since most House members left for the Memorial Day weekend and are currently on recess. The singular objections mean a community ravaged by a category 5 storm has to continue waiting for outside help. The House will have a chance to fully vote on the bill when they return June 3, though the unanimous approval could go through before then.

Some people made it known on social media they weren't happy with Roy's actions.

"#IBetChipRoy merges out of order, doesn't pull all the way up, and doesn't have his money ready to pay in the drive thru line at Chick-fil-A," one post stated.

"I bet @RepChipRoy woke up in a place with walls and ceilings, unlike many in the areas hit by Hurricane Michael," another post stated.

The Senate passed a disaster relief package Thursday and President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign it, despite it not having funding for border security. Roy took issue with the lack of border funding and members of Congress not being around to pass the $19.1 billion bill in person.

"After Hurricane Michael hit Panama City, people are hurting," said McElheney. "Finally it was ready for passage. Chip Roy pulls this political stunt that's all about his own political agenda and moment in the sun."

Bay County and surrounding affected areas have waited nearly eight months for a disaster relief bill, which would help municipalities facing huge debris clean-up costs and Tyndall Air Force Base rebuild. Democrats and Republicans have previously blamed one another for delays. Funding for Puerto Rico was a contentious point, though the Senate package includes $600 million in disaster recovery funding for Puerto Rico.

Roy did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday but addressed his decision Friday in a news release and on Twitter.

"Today I stood to object to the unanimous consent of a $19.1 billion dollar emergency supplemental bill that has been languishing for over eight months because Speaker Pelosi would rather play politics on impeachment than do the work of the people. I objected primarily because had I not, Congress would have passed into law a bill that spends a significant amount of taxpayer money without members of Congress even being present in our nation's capitol to vote on it," Roy said in the release. "Speaker Pelosi knew full well that a disaster bill may be coming from the Senate and yet chose to recess the House and then brought this forward for consent. I stayed in D.C. to object because this kind of swampy practice is what Texans elected me to stand against."

Roy retweeted several people who agreed with his objection, including Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) who said significant spending bills "should never be passed with only three members in the House chamber" and the "Speaker should call the House back into session immediately to vote on the bill."

Roy previously reflected on disaster aid legislation in a 2017 opinion piece for The Hill he co-authored about Hurricane Harvey relief. In the opinion piece, Roy said "Congress should pass a bill separate from other legislative vehicles" and "holding recovery aid hostage to massive borrowing and spending legislation is immoral and cynical."

Over in Bay County, Chris Cramer said what Roy did shouldn't be swept under the rug and considered business as usual.

"This wasn't a partisan issue. It was grandstanding," said Cramer, one of the other businessmen who paid for the Austin American-Statesman ad. "It's politics so nothing can be a surprise, I guess. Anything is possible but this is really unconscionable."

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