NY Reps. Weiner, King spar on House floor over handling of bill to aid sick 9/11 responders
By Andrew Miga, APFriday, July 30, 2010
NY reps. spar in House over 9/11 responder bill
WASHINGTON — The House has rejected a bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust.
The vote opened a sharp rift between two New York congressmen, Republican Peter King and Democrat Anthony Weiner.
The verbal jousting came on the House floor Thursday night as the vote neared.
Arms flailing and his voice rising, Weiner bellowed that Republicans were “wrapping their arms around Republicans rather than doing the right thing.”
King, a key backer of the bill, had earlier accused Democrats of staging a “charade.”
The rift developed over how the bill was put before the chamber. Democrats opted to consider it under a procedure that required a two-thirds vote for approval. That blocked potential GOP amendments.
