EDITORIAL: Should the federal government pay for Hurricane Harvey recovery?

Sept. 05--Hurricane Harvey's human and financial tolls are going to be huge. The United States' wettest-ever tropical cyclone and ensuing floods have killed at least 38 people in Texas, destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes and businesses, and curtailed oil and gas production. Loss estimates range from $10 billion to $50 billion, and the job of rebuilding lives, communities and companies, particularly in the Houston area, will take years.

Who should pay for Texas' recovery?

That's our Question of the Week for readers.

Specifically, what should the federal government's role be in helping Texas and Louisiana to respond to the crisis?

Should taxpayers be willing to foot the bill for fellow Americans in distress? Should we be willing to help, but with limits? Or is providing disaster relief not a proper role for taxpayers and government at all?

President Trump has pledged "many billions of dollars" in relief and said Congress will act "very quickly" to produce an aid package. That would be money on top of the $3 billion in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster fund before Harvey response efforts began.

Are small-government Republicans hypocrites if they resisted the $51 billion aid package for northeastern states after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 but support assistance for Texas now? They include then-Rep. Mike Pence, Trump's vice president, and Sen. Ted Cruz and other Texas representatives. Cruz said the Sandy package was a "Christmas tree" of extraneous spending.

This is an eternal debate. In 1887, President Grover Cleveland vetoed relief for drought-stricken Texas, saying he could "find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution." Of course, in 1887 there was no federal income tax, and people had more money to pay for flood insurance.

Would federal aid be a hand up or a handout?

How should Californians view this, since our leaders might ask for federal relief after the next major earthquake?

Email your thoughts to letters@ocregister.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number. Or, if you prefer, share your views in the comments section that accompanies this article online.

We'll publish as many responses as possible.

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