The moment Hurricane Irene was sweeping through New York, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was calling for additional spending cuts before funding disaster relief.
The Texas congressman doubled down comments he made Friday that the nation was better off in the 1900s, before the existence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
"Congressman, you would really at this point, do away with FEMA and all the things it's doing to help hundreds of thousands of people along the East Coast?" Fox News Chris Wallace asked Paul.
"Have you ever read the reports that came out of New Orleans [after Hurricane Katrina]?" Paul laughed. "It's a system of bureaucratic central economic planning, which is a policy that is deeply flawed."
"So, no. You don't get rid of something like that in one day... I propose we save a billion dollars from overseas war mongering, bring half of that home, put it against the deficit and yes, tide people over until we come to our senses and realize that FEMA has been around since 1978. It has one of the worst reputations for a bureaucracy ever."
"I assume if the Obama administration comes and asks for a emergency funding bill for FEMA, you're a definite no?" Wallace pressed.
"Where would the money come from?" Paul said, again laughing. "We don't have any money... I would consider what I just said. I have precise beliefs in what we should do and I want to transition out of dependency on the federal governent."
"But I would say, 'Yes, Obama you want a billion dollars? Quit that war in Libya that is undeclared and unconstitutional. Bring those troops home, save two billion dollars. Put a billion against the deficit and tide our people over.'"
He continued: "We've conditioned our people that FEMA will take care of us and everything will be OK. But you try to make these programs work the best you can. You can't just keep saying, 'Oh, they need money.' We're out of money. The country is bankrupt."
