Peace, liberty, and having a balanced budget in 5 years.

Rand Paul or none at all in 2016

Rep. John Larson, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Congress should approve disaster aid before leaving for its weeklong Memorial Day break.

However, it wasn’t clear whether a separate funding package would be needed.

John Hart, a spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had $11.6 billion in its Disaster Relief Fund on Tuesday. Congress replenished the fund early this year for Hurricane Sandy aid.

Coburn drew some fire Tuesday for saying that the cost of any aid package for his state should be offset with cuts to other parts of the budget. Some Democrats — and even a key Republican lawmaker who oversees spending — countered that budget offsets shouldn’t be required for disaster aid.

Hart said Coburn has argued since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 that supplemental spending bills should be paid for by reducing spending on less vital priorities.

And, Hart said, “It is crass for critics to play disaster aid politics when first responders are pulling victims from the rubble.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration believes FEMA has sufficient resources to deal with the needs in Oklahoma.

“But we will, obviously, be making regular assessments with all the team members we have on the ground, working with state officials,” he said.