US Congress gives final approval to long-delayed disaster aid

The US Congress gave its final approval to a long-delayed disaster aid package, ending an 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 on Monday for the $19.1 billion package, which the Senate overwhelmingly approved late last month before departing for recess, The New York Times reported.

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, a New York Democrat who is chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee and a chief architect of the bill.

President Donald 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 $4.5 billion that he requested in supplemental aid for the southwestern border.

"Farmers, Puerto Rico and all will be very happy," he tweeted shortly after the vote.

This is the first time Congress has approved a broad disaster relief package since February 2018.

The measure passed on Monday will address disasters in the year since: hurricanes in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, wildfires in California, and floods in the Midwest region.

The bill also includes an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program and more than $3 billion to rebuild military bases and Coast Guard facilities.

It provides $2.4 billion for community development block grants in Puerto Rico and states, and $3.25 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers to repair damaged infrastructure and prepare for future storms.

( With inputs from IANS )