On top of the $17 billion bill, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) offered another amendment that added $33.7 billion to the aid package. That measure passed 228-192, with 20 Republicans from unaffected areas voting for it. As Human Events notes, the Frelinghuysen amendment was loaded with superfluous spending, including “$500 million for weather forecasting and to help create an ocean zoning plan–the later one of Obama’s pet projects. Also included are $10 million for FBI salaries $2 billion for road construction across the country, as well as funding for the Head Start program, roof repairs at the Smithsonian, and $150 million for fisheries across the country.”

The third piece of the relief package involved a $9 billion bill passed earlier this month for the National Flood Insurance Program.

But as with most legislative efforts, say critics, the devil is in the details. Take, for example, the Frelinghuysen amendment. According to Patrick Louis Knudsen of the Heritage Foundation:

One of the most stunning elements in the amendment is $16 billion for the Community Development Block Grant, a slush fund that states and localities can hand out pretty much anywhere they choose. The amendment contains several pages of language ostensibly aimed at restricting use of the funds, but also says they can be applied to “other eligible events in calendar years 2011, 2012, and 2013.” It’s just a guess, but events in 2011 and 2013 are not likely the result of Hurricane Sandy. This is the kind of spending that helps unravel coherent budgeting and contributes to chronic, trillion-dollar deficits.

The House’s Sandy relief bill was broken into two main components, both sponsored by Republicans. The first package, a $17 billion tranche composed mostly of short-term emergency funding for communities whacked by the historic storm, was authored by Hal Rogers, the Appropriations Committee chairman from Kentucky. The larger and more controversial amendment, authored by Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, drew objections from House Republicans because it contained some $12 billion in long-term development projects that was open to nearly all states. While Rogers’ package sailed through the House, Frelinghuysen’s amendment passed narrowly, winning the support of just 38 House Republicans.

When Chris Christie started to talk over a complaining questioner, a signature tactic of the bellicose, pre-scandal governor, the audience here briefly turned on him.

“Answer the question,” some shouted.

When he took a microphone from a long-winded speaker, the man startled Mr. Christie by snatching it right back.

And when he singled out a young woman as his inspiration for repairing the Hurricane Sandy-battered coastline, he failed to grasp that the girl’s mother — sitting just a few feet from Mr. Christie — was angry with him for not doing enough.

“He’s full of it,” she said.

But then Tom Largey, a Sea Bright resident whose home was badly damaged by the storm and who is living with relatives, confronted Christie.

Why was so much money, Largey asked, being spent on private contractors to handle the storm recovery, particularly Hammerman & Gainer, the Louisiana-based company that was quietly let go by the administration in December? After all, New York did just fine without hiring outsiders.

The crowd lustily applauded Largey, not Christie. The calm empathizer was now seething, defensive.

"What's your suggestion on how I should have done it?" Christie shot back. "Should I have hired thousands of new government employees to be able to administer these programs?"

"Answer the question!" barked one woman. Heads turned in irritation. Two men loudly cleared their throats

Responding to Christie, Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) said:

When Hurricane Sandy bore down on the Northeast, I fought alongside my colleagues to ensure the federal government delivered the resources New Jersey families desperately needed to rebuild their lives. Instead of playing partisan politics and passing the buck, the Governor should focus on correcting the botched rollout of the state-run RREM program that has left scores of New Jersey families out in the cold.

The federal government cannot be blamed for the state’s lack of transparency, lost applications and the mysterious firings of Sandy contractors. More than a year after the storm, there are still folks not back in their homes that deserve answers. It’s time for Governor Christie to take responsibility for his administration’s mismanagement and do what’s right by the people of New Jersey.