Hurricane Sandy: Romney Would Curtail Federal Aid and Response, but Send in Canned Goods

Romney Holds 'Storm Relief Event' - NYTimes.com 

"As our editorial noted this morning, Mr. Romney wants to end centralized emergency relief and let states handle the load themselves, though few states can do so without federal assistance.

Mr. Romney’s rash promise to put a hard ceiling on discretionary spending – which includes emergency response – would mean far less money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The House budgets developed by his running mate, Paul Ryan, would cut this kind of spending even further, an idea that Mr. Romney considers “excellent.”

Mr. Romney ignored all questions this morning about his plans for federal emergency management. It’s probably embarrassing to admit those plans consist largely of collecting soup cans."