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U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte sees a lot of pork in the Hurricane Sandy relief bill, which became law Jan. 28. And, to hear her tell it, there isn’t enough dough around to support it.
Ayotte may have strong feelings about the spending levels included in the Sandy relief bills, but in this case, the numbers don’t always add up the way Ayotte would like.
Looking at the Homeland Security department, the FY2012 budget ($60.4 billion) is roughly equal to the Sandy total ($60.2 billion), and both the budget authority ($47.7 billion) and the actual amount spent ($47.4 billion) are less, so Ayotte is right in that regard.
But, the Energy budget tells a different story. In 2012, department officials operated on a budget authority of $22.8 billion -- less than half the Sandy total. But, they also estimated $39 billion in department outlays, and records show they ended up spending $32.5 billion. Doubled, both of those numbers exceed the Sandy spending, meaning on this part, Ayotte is off target.
Ayotte said she was referring to budget authority figures, and she's right on that count. By other measures, she's either very close or not accurate. We rate her claim Mostly True.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Sandy Relief Bill Became an Excuse for Spending Spree, January 30, 2013
Email interview with Liz Johnson, spokeswoman for Sen. Kelly Ayotte, February 4, 2013
Congressional Budget Office, Estimate of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (H.R. 152) as Passed by the House on January 15, 2013, January 16, 2013
White House Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables: Table 5.2 -- Budget Authority by Agency, 1976-2017, Accessed February 1, 2013
White House Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables: Table 4.1 -- Outlays by Agency, 1976-2017, Accessed February 1, 2013
U.S. Department of Treasury, Final Monthly Treasury Statement, November 13, 2012
White House Office of Management and Budget, The Budget: Department of Homeland Security, February 13, 2012
U.S. Department of Treasury, Joint Statement of Secretary Geithner and OMB Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Ziets on Budget Results for Fiscal Year 2012, October 12, 2012
White House Office of Management and Budget, The Budget: Department of Energy, February 13, 2012
Email interview with Ron Haskins, senior economic fellow at the Brookings Institution, February 4, 2013
Email interview with William McBride, chief economist for the Tax Foundation, February 4, 2013
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