WASHINGTON -- A House GOP conservative complaining a long-overdue $19 billion disaster-aid bill leaves out money needed to address what he calls the migrant crisis at the border blocked the bill Friday, extending a tempest over hurricane and flood relief that has left the measure meandering for months.
The move came a day after the measure flew through the Senate despite Democrats' move to strip out President Donald Trump's $4.5 billion request for dealing with a migrant crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a former aide to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, complained that it does not contain any money to address increasingly urgent border needs. "It is a bill that includes nothing to address the international emergency and humanitarian crisis we face at our southern border," Roy said.
He also objected to speeding the measure through a nearly empty chamber, saying it was important for lawmakers to actually vote on a bill that "spends a significant amount of taxpayer money."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the delays have gone on too long.
"Now, after the President and Senate Republicans disrupted and delayed disaster relief for more than four months, House Republicans have decided to wage their own sabotage," Pelosi said. "Every day of Republican obstruction, more disasters have struck, more damage has piled up and more families have been left in the cold."
Democrats said the House might try to again pass the measure next week during a session, like Friday's, that would otherwise be pro forma. If that doesn't succeed, a quick bipartisan vote would come after Congress returns next month from its Memorial Day recess.
Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., said she was upset at Roy's action. "The fact that one person from a state that is directly affected could object, it's just irresponsible," she said. Texas was slammed by record floods in 2017, though not Roy's San Antonio-area district.
GOP leaders and Trump support the bill.
"This is a rotten thing to do. This is going to pass," said Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass.
The relief measure would deliver money to Southern states suffering from last fall's hurricanes, Midwestern states deluged with springtime floods and fire-ravaged rural California, among others. Puerto Rico would also get help for hurricane recovery, ending a monthslong dispute between Trump and Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York.
Trump said Thursday that he will sign the bill.
Trump said he favored the bill even though $4 billion-plus to deal with the humanitarian crisis involving Central American migrants has been removed.
"I didn't want to hold that up any longer," Trump said. "I totally support it."
Talks over Trump's border request broke down over conditions Democrats wanted to place on money to provide care and shelter for asylum-seeking Central American migrants.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused Democrats of insisting on "poison pills" that made the talks collapse. Other Republicans, especially those trying to project a bipartisan image for next year's campaign, were more circumspect.
"Right now the total dollar amounts are pretty close on border security. Democrats and Republicans are pretty much in agreement about it," said Sen. David Perdue of Georgia. "We're just trying to work out some detailed language, but we didn't think we could wait any longer to get this done."
All sides agree that another bill of more than $4 billion will be needed almost immediately to refill nearly empty agency accounts to care for migrants, though Democrats are fighting against the detention facilities requested by Trump.
"Well, we're going to get the immigration money later, according to everybody," Trump said on a recent trip to Florida. "I have to take care of my farmers with the disaster relief."
Information for this article was contributed by Matthew Daly and Alan Fram of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/25/2019