Mr. Bloomberg huddled with leaders of the House and Senate throughout the day seeking billions of dollars in support to help New York recover from the storm’s devastation.
“There’s every reason for Congress to provide us with the assistance we need, given New York City’s importance to the health of the entire nation,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Bloomberg was joined at one point by New York’s two United States senators, Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrats who seemed eager to have the mayor on hand to help the state’s Congressional delegation lobby legislative leaders for the money.
But notably missing from the group was Governor Cuomo, who held a news conference of his own earlier this week announcing that the state would need nearly $33 billion to pay for storm cleanup and an additional $9 billion to prepare for future storms.
Mr. Cuomo’s absence — combined with the fact that he has yet to schedule a Washington visit — prompted a degree of puzzlement among some officials here in the Capitol. Several have said that Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, needed to personally press his case in the Capitol — and soon, given that there are only a few weeks left before Congress adjourns.
At a news conference in the Capitol, Mr. Schumer thanked the mayor for making the trip and urged the governor to do the same. “Speaking for the delegation, we would like the governor to come down as much as he can,” he said.
Mr. Cuomo, who generally avoids Washington, has not made specific plans to visit Capitol Hill, his staff said. But Mr. Cuomo has invited the House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, to come to New York to view the damage, and has said publicly that he would go to Washington to lobby the speaker if needed.
An aide to Mr. Boehner said that there had been discussions about setting up a phone call between the speaker and the governor, but that the call had yet to take place.
The mayor held eight meetings on Capitol Hill, visiting, among others: the House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia; the Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California; the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada; and the Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
New York will not be alone in seeking help. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, announced Wednesday that the cost of hurricane damage there totaled $36.8 billion.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/nyregion/bloomberg-lobbies-capitol-hill-for-storm-aid-but-cuomo-stays-home.html?partner=rss&emc=rss