Sass speaks out

Broken promises

New York City has had a pretty tough year, wouldn’t you say? Besides the people that were murdered and the buildings that were destroyed during the attack, NYC has also had to deal with a slowing economy and a struggling tourist industry. Unemployment is rising, and rebuilding is slow and expensive.

Yet a new villain has entered, one that is not afraid to heap insult onto tremendous injury. And this time, it is not some foreign power with a hatred of everything American. This time, it is our own government.

Immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush promised unlimited aid from the federal government to NYC. Actually, what he promised was to hand NYC a “blank check” to be used for recovery. New Yorkers believed him; they had no reason not to. Congress immediately allocated $40 billion to Bush for recovery and anti-terrorism measures. Congress further stated that “not less then one-half of the $40 billion shall be for disaster recovery activities and assistance related to the terrorist acts in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania.”

$20 billion was to be distributed among the three states. It seems obvious to remark that, as NYC had suffered the most damage, it would receive the most aid. It simply needs the most. This was never implicitly stated, but it is a logical conclusion to reach.

The picture changed drastically in November with the meeting of the House Appropriations Committee. The anti-terrorism package only gave NYC $9 billion, less then half what it was promised. After fervent protests and furious last-minute negotiations, the number was changed to $11 billion. That is a great sum, but compared to what was originally promised, it is insulting. The $20 billion figure was proposed for a reason. It is going to cost at least that to rebuild the city. Yet, as of now, NYC will not receive it.

Bush recently released his budget proposal. How much, according to the proposal, does the government plan to spend on NYC this year? Not a dime. When questioned about this, it was explained that the aid to NYC is not going to be proposed in any one budget, but we can rest assured that it will eventually total over $20 billion.

“Eventually” is pretty ambiguous as to what exactly is considered aid to NYC. Recently, a government official from the budget office said that the $5 billion victims compensation fund would be counted against the $20 billion that was supposed to go to NYC. Later, a budget office spokesperson said that the money would not be taken away from NYC.

When pressed about all these odd contradictions, those in power can only give excuses and vague promises of future aid. Shall we be satisfied with this? How can we trust a government that vacillates and retracts? It is not enough to say that NYC will be helped eventually. It is not enough to make extravagant promises. Without actions behind them, the words are worthless.

This country has enough to worry about without having to protect itself against its own government. NYC, as well as the rest of the country, is slowly beginning to feel safe again, as we keep one eye on Afghanistan. Will we watch an enemy abroad so closely that we will fail to see the danger right behind us?

Now, more then ever, we need the support of our government. It has been said over and over again that the courage our country displayed was incredible. Special homage was given to those in NYC. Words of praise are nice, but what NYC needs now is the money that was promised to them.

As the memory of the attacks grow fainter, it is less and less likely that NYC will receive the full sum. The Bush administration will never actually admit it, but the vague promises will continue, and the money will never be fully paid. It will always be “someday.”

Unfortunately, NYC cannot afford this. NYC needs money for recovery as soon as possible. The longer the government puts off the aid, the longer it will take to recover.

“Put not your trust in princes.” America has no prince, but we have a president and a Congress that we want to be able to trust. The government can try to put this off all it wants, but it comes down to this: NYC deserves the money; NYC needs the money; so NYC must receive the money. If this government wants to be considered trustworthy, it will do what is right. It will fulfill the promise given to a brave city that, against all odds, refused to fall. It will praise the heroism of NYC, not only with empty words, but with the help NYC so desperately needs.