The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has authorized half of its $313 million for disaster relief to eight states, including $19 million to Maine for last year’s ice storm. In return, Congress must promise it won’t yank HUD’s disaster-relief authority and turn it over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

This clumsy attempt at blackmail is reason enough for Congress to yank. Just don’t lose the money.

Although it is fading memory, Mainers still remember the Ice Storm of 1998: the damage, the disruption; for many, the weeks of cold and dark. Most remember how, this time a year ago, Congress approved $130 million in aid to the Northeast. How the record — the Congressional Record — made the intent of that appropriation clear. How HUD ignored that clear intent last fall and spent the money elsewhere, leaving some Northeast states out entirely and Maine with a paltry $2 million to cover $60 million in utility damage. How HUD this winter promised the outraged region additional help and came up with another round of paltriness.

After the Senate last month gave HUD clear instructions not to disburse any more disaster-relief funds while it looked into the FEMA option, HUD launched this publicly financed campaign using Northeast ratepayers. There’s a lot of speculation as to the cause of this debacle. Some say an internal struggle between compassionate staffers and nitpickers was won by the nitpickers. Whatever — only HUD could make the oft-criticized FEMA look so good.

A conference committee now must reconcile the Senate’s HUD bill, which transfers the relief authority to FEMA, with the House version, which does not. The Senate has a point: HUD’s record is awful; FEMA can hardly do worse and probably would do better. House members, including those from Maine and the rest of the Northeast, say the transfer to FEMA would further delay relief already long overdue and would re-open the now-settled issue of federal aid to private utilities (and eventually to ratepayers).

Above all, it would violate the Bird in the Hand Rule. Maine is in line for $19 million. Maine’s small delegation, while diligent, doesn’t have a whole lot of clout in Congress. With more influential states drooling over $313 million, starting from scratch could leave Maine out in the cold again. The delegation and like-minded receivers should press Congress to require shift the money to FEMA, but with it should go the funding awards identified by HUD. With that out of the way, Congress also might wish to review HUD’s role in disaster relief (say, the day after the FEMA transfer).

That later date would be a good time to review this nation’s entire approach to disaster relief. Why does HUD believe it can thumb its nose at Congress? Why does FEMA encourage rebuilding in areas chronically prone to earthquake, flood, hurricane and other recurring disasters? Why does Congress habitually underfund disaster relief and then pad supplemental bills with unrelated spending, as it is doing now with hurricane relief for Central America?

Those questions need answers. Just don’t punish Maine while Congress sorts out this mess.