The White House late Friday afternoon sent its request to Congress for $500 million in immediate relief to help the victims of Hurricane Irene and other recent disasters and avoid running out of response funds before the end of the month.
The request was just a small portion of the total $5.1 billion the President asked for in order to fill the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has become so strained for funds that it has put longer-term building projects on hold in order to ensure enough money remains for victims of Irene.
White House Office and Management Budget Director Jacob Lew told Congress the $500 million is needed to address the possibility that disaster funds might run out before the Sept. 30 end of the budget year.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) stirred up a mini-political firestorm in recent weeks when he demanded offsets for any disaster relief money spent on Irene, but has since assured victims that there will be no delay in providing funds.
Cantor spokeswoman Laena Fallon told TPM that her boss has no objections to helping the victims of Hurricane Irene and providing funds for relief efforts.
“The House has passed $1 billion in disaster relief funds that is fully offset, which we will look to move as quickly as possible,” she said. “There will be no delay in meeting the President’s request and providing people the aid they need.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), has said he’ll bring a disaster aid bill up for a vote soon, perhaps as early as next week. But Congress could also tack the disaster aid on to a must-pass spending bill to keep the government running past Sept. 30.
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