The waters have just begun to recede in Vermont. New Jersey is still reeling. North Carolina is just starting to pick up the pieces. But Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is already taking Hurricane Irene's victims hostage.

Rep. Cantor is insisting that before any additional emergency funding is approved by Congress, even funding needed to meet immediate human needs, it must first be "offset" with budget cuts elsewhere.

Truly, Mr. Cantor has no shame. It's outrageous to take advantage of the urgent needs of hurricane survivors in order to advance his radical crusade to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. But that's exactly what one of the top Republicans in Congressional leadership is doing with his refusal to allocate money to disaster relief unless Congress first offsets that money with cuts to vital government programs.

Tell Eric Cantor: Release the hostages and stop blocking funds for urgently needed disaster relief.