Lawmakers to vote on $50B relief bill for Sandy victims

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) -- Lawmakers are getting ready to vote on a $50 billion emergency relief bill for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
 
One of our Connecticut senators was on the shoreline Monday talking about the importance of the vote.
 
"The Senate approved this money several months ago, and then the House was blocked on voting for it by petty partisan politics," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

It's been a tough three months in Washington and for business owners and residents near Bridgeport's waterfront who have been trying to rebuild.

"And you've been working on repairing the damage ever since," asked News 8's Kent Pierce.

"Ever since," said Mike Petrocelli.

"Are you done yet," asked Pierce.

"About 80 percent," said Petrocelli. "This store is about 90 percent. That house is about 80 percent."

Petrocelli is a contractor who pumped 9' of water out of the buildings on the block after Sandy. Bridgeport and the other towns hit by the storm have been waiting for congress to pass the aid package to get help with cleanup and to try to improve infrastructure.

Bridgeport's Mayor gave Senator Blumenthal a tour of some of the lasting damage and he says his city needs to fortify against future storms.

"We don't really care about the politics in Washington," said Mayor Bill Finch. "We care about helping the citizens who live here who had to deal with the water rising and 100 year storms happening every other year. We've got to get help from Washington."

Mayor Finch might not care about the politics in Washington, but that is what has held up the vote for so long. This time around, the Senate has already approved the $50 billion in Sandy aid. Senator Blumenthal got a very brief tour of the damage there because he had to rush down to Washington to vote in the Senate.