An emergency relief package, stymied for months, will finally go to President Trump. It allocates billions of dollars in relief for hurricanes, fires and floods.
WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Monday to a long-delayed disaster aid package, ending the congressional impasse that has stymied efforts to send billions of dollars in relief to ongoing recovery efforts from a series of natural disasters.
The 354-to-58 House vote capped a lengthy and complex odyssey for the $19.1 billion package, which the Senate overwhelmingly approved late last month before departing for recess. Every House Democrat in attendance, along with 132 Republicans, supported the measure, allowing it to overcome the two-thirds procedural threshold under a suspension of House rules.
“Today we are rejecting the political stunts and grandstanding that have made it difficult to deliver much-needed disaster relief to families and communities across America,” said Representative Nita M. Lowey of New York, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and a chief architect of the relief bill.
President Trump, who initially opposed the bill, freezing its progress in the Senate, now says he will sign it, although it includes $900 million for Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts from hurricanes in 2017 that he did not want and does not include $4.
