On Friday evening, the White House requested funding from Congress to assist relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
“At this time, the Administration requests an appropriation of $7.85 billion in Federal resources for response and initial recovery efforts related to Hurricane Harvey,” a letter addressed to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., from Office of Budget Management Director Mick Mulvaney states.
Included in this sum is $7.4 billion dollars for Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Relief Fund. The proposal includes funds to ensure FEMA is prepared for any additional disasters while continuing ongoing response and recovery efforts.
Beyond the initial amount, the letter asks for up to $6.7 billion to be added the the DRF as part of a possible continuing resolution meant to keep the government open beyond September.
The letter also advocates raising the debt ceiling in order to accommodate this request.
“Indeed, if the debt ceiling is not raised, it may not be possible to outlay the requested supplemental appropriations or funds for other Governmental operations,” the letter states.
Ryan tweeted Friday evening that the House “will act quickly” on Trump’s request.
As families & communities begin long recovery from Hurricane Harvey, House will act quickly on @POTUS request for emergency relief funding.
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) September 2, 2017
Earlier in the day the House indicated that next week, when Congress returns from summer recess, lawmakers would take up legislation that would provide billions of dollars in relief funding as Texas and Louisiana handle the aftermath of the storm.
“We would like to get a down payment early, so we can meet the unmet needs early, while we compile the information we need to qualify for the various categories of federal assistance,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. “What we are going to try to do is build that case, with a down payment up front.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement Friday evening saying the Senate must act quickly.
“Working closely with the President and the House of Representatives, the Senate stands ready to act quickly to provide this much-needed assistance to those impacted communities, and support first responders and volunteers,” he said.
Some estimates say the damage will cost over $100 billion. In comparison, Hurricane Sandy from 2012 received $50.5 billion in a federal assistance package.
