House sends $15B Harvey aid bill, debt hike to Trump to sign

Cheney votes against bill

 

September 9, 2017



WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted overwhelmingly on Friday to send a $15.3 billion disaster aid package to President Donald Trump, overcoming conservative objections to linking the emergency legislation to a temporary increase in America’s borrowing authority. The legislation also keeps the government funded into December.

The 316-90 vote would refill depleted emergency accounts as Florida braces for the impact of Hurricane Irma this weekend and Texas picks up the pieces after the devastation of the Harvey storm. All 90 “no” votes were cast by Republicans.

Congressman Liz Cheney (WY-AL) released the following statement Friday regarding her vote on today’s package that included a continuing resolution and debt ceiling increase without spending reforms.

“Earlier this week, I voted for a no-strings attached Hurricane Harvey aid relief package.  Unfortunately, after the changes demanded by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, I could no longer support the package which now includes raising the debt ceiling without spending reforms and an arbitrary 3-month continuing resolution.

“The United States is currently facing unprecedented threats to our security. As our military leaders have repeatedly testified, continuing resolutions are severely damaging to our military’s readiness and effectiveness.  The spate of recent tragic accidents is evidence of the cost of denying our armed forces the resources they need. Rebuilding our military and defeating the grave and growing threats posed by our adversaries cannot be done under continuing resolutions.

“Our most sacred constitutional obligation is to provide for the defense of our nation. We fail to do our duty when we force the Department of Defense to operate under continuing resolutions.”

It’s just the first installment of a federal aid package that could rival or exceed the $110 billion federal response after Hurricane Katrina, though future aid packages may be more difficult to pass. It also kicks budget decisions into December and forces another politically tough debt limit vote next year.

Late Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., added $7.4 billion in rebuilding funding to Trump’s $7.9 billion request to deal with the immediate emergency in Texas and parts of Louisiana. The Senate passed the measure Thursday by an 80-17 vote.

 
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