Disaster-aid bill wins bipartisan support

WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday passed a $19 billion disaster-aid bill, breaking a months-long impasse that held up critical federal funding for areas of the country struck by natural disasters.

The Senate approved the bill by an 85-8 vote. House lawmakers have left for the Memorial Day recess but the chamber will try to pass the bill by voice vote today, said a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Arkansas Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton voted to pass the measure.

The compromise measure, supported by congressional Democrats and Republicans, would deliver $19.1 billion in disaster relief for parts of the Southeast, Midwest, California and Puerto Rico.

The package leaves out additional funding sought by the administration for the U.S. border with Mexico, according to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., which proved contentious in the disaster-aid negotiations.

"We took it all out. We're going to try to push that separately when we come back," Shelby told reporters. "It's a good deal. This disaster issue has played on for months and months. Let's hope we can move it out of the Senate today."

President Donald Trump said he will sign it even though money to deal with the border has been removed.

"I didn't want to hold that up any longer," Trump said. "I totally support it"

On Thursday, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., whose state is awaiting federal money to rebuild from Hurricane Michael, called Trump and won approval for a disaster-aid plan that left out additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to Casey Black, a spokesman for Perdue.

Top Democratic negotiators, such as House Appropriations Committee Chairman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., cheered news of the agreement.

"Chairman Lowey is pleased that President Trump and Republicans have agreed to bipartisan, comprehensive disaster relief legislation that will meet urgent needs across the country," said Evan Hollander, a spokesman for Lowey. "If the Senate passes the legislation today, House Democrats support clearing it through the House as soon as possible."

Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said the bill was exactly the same as what he and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, proposed six weeks ago and "could have been passed then. It wasn't Democrats blocking it."

The congressional deadlock has stalled support for victims of wildfires in California and other western states, southeastern residents hurt by hurricanes, Midwestern states that faced historic flooding earlier this year, and other areas. In Puerto Rico, more than 1 million residents have seen their food stamp payments cut after the program's emergency funding expired in March.

It appeared earlier Thursday that negotiations were on the brink of failure.

At a news conference Thursday, Pelosi said the Senate should take up legislation already passed by the House but opposed by the White House. Earlier this month, the House passed a disaster aid bill that included more generous support for Puerto Rico, a package that won the support of all of the chamber's Democrats and 34 Republicans.

"That's sitting over at the Senate. They could well just pass it and send it to the president," Pelosi said, adding that the Trump administration's conditions for border funding are "unacceptable."

"[Democrats] understand our responsibility to protect our border, but what they're doing is just not right," she said.

Democrats secured a provision that would block Trump from diverting any of the money in the bill for military projects toward building his border wall. Trump has declared a national emergency and has said he is considering transferring up to $3.6 billion from military construction to border barriers.

Information for this article was contributed by Jeff Stein, Mike DeBonis, Erica Werner and Felicia Sonmez of The Washington Post; and by Andrew Taylor of The Associated Press.

A Section on 05/24/2019

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