John Bogna
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Tuesday including $36.5 billion in aid aimed at helping victims of the string of devastating natural disasters in recent months.
Videos by Rare
RELATED: Rockport mayor reveals sad truth about rebuilding the city in tts Harvey postmortem
The bill will now go to President Donald Trump’s desk to await his signature. It passed through the Senate with a vote of 82-17, with all of the ‘nay’ votes Republican.
Breaking it down by the numbers, $18.7 billion will go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, $16 billion will be put towards debt accrued via the national flood insurance program, $576.5 million is dedicated to relief efforts for the wildfires in California and $1.27 billion will go to Puerto Rico.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) of Florida attempted to add even more relief funding to the bill, but that proposal was rejected by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said “the Senate remains committed to doing its part to support the ongoing hurricane relief efforts. We all see this as a multistage process. … There will be additional rounds, and we are all fully committed to meeting the needs that have arisen as a result of these devastating hurricanes.”
The recent disasters also spurred a bet of good faith between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and California Governor Jerry Brown over the Astros World Series game Wednesday night.
Each offered iconic tastes of their home state if their team were to lose. For Abbott, it was Houston-brewed beer and BBQ, and Brown bet some of Napa Valley’s best wine.
“…the governors are wagering wine, beer and food from businesses in regions impacted by these disaster and encouraging the public to see, taste and experience what their respective states have to offer,” a release from Gov. Brown’s office stated.
RELATED: Woman gets her horse away from California wildfires in the back of her Honda Accord
