Lawmaker takes a stand against hurricane relief

Rep. Steve King of Iowa is defending his vote against relief for Hurricane Katrina, because he claims some of the money was spent on "Gucci bags and massage parlors." During a debate in Mason City, Iowa, last night, King said he doesn't want to sign off on federal spending for disaster recovery from Hurricane Sandy either, unless he sees (and likes) a detailed plan for how the money will be spent.

In 2005, King was one of only 11 Congress members to vote against a $50 billion Hurricane Katrina relief bill, an issue that was expected to come up again given the talk about how to handle the current disaster (and reporters trying to pin down Mitt Romney on his FEMA stance.) King mocked the idea the plan that was submitted for Katrina, because it included appropriations for "mitigating future disaster." He said he would make the same demands on Northeast states before releasing federal dollars to help with Sandy's recovery, and not give "one big shot that just opens up the checkbook, because they spent it on Gucci bags and massage parlors and everything you can think of."

Read more at The Atlantic Wire.