SPARTA – The start of 2013 came with a mixed bag of political wins and losses for the county’s two congressmen, whose votes split on the deal to avert the fiscal cliff but reunited to bring billions of dollars to their home state by supporting federal spending for hurricane relief.
The votes highlighted an internal conflict of Sussex County’s conservative congressmen, who have criticized federal spending while serving home districts awaiting aid after Hurricane Sandy.
“Washington has a spending problem. No increase in tax rates will change that,” Congressman Scott Garrett (R-5th District) said on his Web site.
Garrett voted against the bill averting the tough automatic tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. The agreement increased tax rates on people earning over $400,000 and avoided cuts to federal spending.
Three days later, however, Garrett sponsored and voted in favor of a bill expanding the borrowing limit of Federal Flood Insurance Program by $9.7 billion.
“As someone who has been on the ground, viewed the devastation, and helped clean up some of the damage, I certainly believe that those who have bought flood insurance should expect to receive the coverage they paid for,” Garrett’s said on his Web site.
Neither Garrett nor his staff responded to requests for comment following the vote.
Frelinghuysen's $33 billion bill
Garrett also voted in favor of the supplemental package proposed by his fellow congressman from Sussex County, Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, whose measure authorizing $33 billion in disaster aid for states hit by the storm passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-180.
Southern conservatives attacked Frelinghuysen's package, calling it loaded with pet projects and funding for non-emergency programs.
The fight against Frelinghhuysen was led by Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia, who sponsored six of the measures to amend the $33 billion supplemental package.
“It is unacceptable for Congress to use this disaster as a justification for passing a bill chock-full of pork barrel spending,” Broun said.
The criticism marked a shift for Frelinghuysen, who has long advocated federal spending cuts.
"It should be clear to everyone that we have to stop spending borrowed federal dollars like there is no tomorrow!" according to Frelinghuysen's website. "If you reach your spending limit on a credit card, you can't ask the company to increase your line of credit, you have to make fiscally responsible decisions to pay down your debt."
Frelinghuysen earlier broke ranks with more conservative representative, when he voted for the passage of the deal averting the fiscal cliff.
Bracing for tax season
Those hoping that the moment may come to strike a grand bargain about the nations swelling debt and deficit saw little relief from the fiscal cliff package, which raised tax rates on individuals earning over $400,000 per year.
"There are clients that are discouraged just in general about the government and where it’s going," said Ethan Hundley, an accountant with Hundley CPAs Corp. of Newton.
"There are a fair amount of our clients that prefer deregulation rather than regulation. I think what happened last week provides for more deregulation and allows for more people and small businesses to keep what they earn. To me, this is a good first step. It’s a small step for many things that need to happen, and I think our clients would agree.
Though Congress has looked busy since the end of 2012, not a lot has changed, said Karen Roth, a CPA with McIntyre and Company in Sparta.
“I waited all year for miracles to happen, not miracles, but I really thought that, after the elections, they would sit down and all come together and reunite to do their jobs in congress, but it’s the same old story over and over again — politics as usual."