WASHINGTON-- The House on Friday passed a $19 billion disaster aid bill that would deliver long-sought relief to farmers, victims of hurricanes and floods, and rebuild southern military bases, as Democrats try to dislodge the legislation from a Senate logjam over aid to hurricane-slammed Puerto Rico. The measure passed by a 257-150 vote over the opposition of most Republicans, who said it should also include the Trump administration's $4.5 billion request for stepped up humanitarian aid and law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border, which is facing a wave of migrants fleeing violence in Central America. The House had passed an earlier $14 billion version of the measure in January, but the legislation has been held up in the Senate amid a fight between President Donald Trump and Democrats over aid to Puerto Rico. Trump is feuding with Democratic officials on the island and falsely claims that Puerto Rico has already received $91 billion in aid. Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to urge Republicans to vote against the bill. "House Republicans should not vote for the BAD DEMOCRAT Disaster Supplemental Bill which hurts our States, Farmers & Border Security," Trump tweeted. "We want to do much better than this. All sides keep working and send a good BILL for immediate signing!" Disaster aid measures are usually among the few reliably bipartisan pieces of legislation left in an increasingly partisan Washington. But the pending measure faces several obstacles in addition to the battle over Puerto Rico, including an attempt by powerful Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to boost Army Corps of Engineers harbor dredging efforts, of which the Port of Mobile in his state would be a major beneficiary. Shelby's relationship with White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney also appears strained. Since the House measure originally passed, Midwestern floods have added billions of dollars to the government's roster of disaster needs, while a rising wave of Central American migrants seeking refuge from violence in their countries is requiring additional billions of dollars to house and care for thousands of migrants. "The bill languished for months in the Senate over assistance for Puerto Rico. And as it sat there, floods battered the Midwest and tornadoes swept the South," said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. "This legislation attempts to meet the needs of all of America's disaster-stricken communities -- whether in Puerto Rico or the Midwest, California or the Carolinas." Republicans on Thursday delivered a new offer to Democrats in hopes of finally breaking the legislation free, adding money for Puerto Rico and flooded Midwestern states. Lawmakers had hoped to have the legislation enacted into law by now but are now eying Memorial Day as an informal deadline. "I've spoken to the president. I've spoken to the leader on the Senate side. I believe we can solve this all by next week," said top House Republican Kevin McCarthy of California. "Let's do this together. Let's show America that when it comes to a time of need that we all put partisanship aside." The White House and some Republicans want to add Trump's border request to the measure. "We should provide much needed relief to communities recovering from hurricanes, floods, wildfires and tornadoes. But we cannot turn our backs on a border crisis that is growing worse by the day," said top Appropriations Committee Republican Kay Granger of Texas. "Law enforcement and humanitarian relief organizations are being pushed to the limit, and we must act now." Democrats have resisted the idea of merging the border and disaster measures, saying that would delay the aid measure and complicate its passage. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, said in a brief interview that "there may be some pieces" of Trump's border request that could be added to the disaster aid measure in endgame negotiations. "We'll see." Friday's measure originally added $3 billion to the earlier House bill to help Midwest states such as Iowa and Nebraska recover from this spring's floods -- but then was successfully amended on the floor numerous times by lawmakers in both parties, who added $1.8 billion to rebuild military bases in Nebraska and Florida, as well as more flood aid for the Midwest. The measure also would extend the federal flood insurance program through September to give lawmakers more time to renew the program, which enjoys broad bipartisan support. The additional time would give the House and Senate banking panels time to develop a longer-term extension of the program.<doc-sep>Separately, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), and the administration are at odds over the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which collects fees from users to pay for upgrades at ports. Shelby hopes to include language in the disaster aid bill that would make it easier to spend money in the fund, noting that repairs are badly needed at ports that have been affected by recent hurricanes. But White House officials oppose Shelby’s approach, saying he is just looking for a way to spend more money.<doc-sep>President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE on Thursday urged lawmakers to "keep working" on disaster aid legislation instead of voting for a bill put forth by Democrats, which he called "bad." ADVERTISEMENT "House Republicans should not vote for the BAD DEMOCRAT Disaster Supplemental Bill which hurts our States, Farmers & Border Security," Trump tweeted on the eve of the expected House vote. "We want to do much better than this. All sides keep working and send a good BILL for immediate signing!" he added. House Republicans should not vote for the BAD DEMOCRAT Disaster Supplemental Bill which hurts our States, Farmers & Border Security. Up for vote tomorrow. We want to do much better than this. All sides keep working and send a good BILL for immediate signing! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2019 The House is expected to vote Friday on an emergency funding bill that would disperse $17.2 billion in relief for recent tornadoes and wildfires as well as Hurricanes Florence, Michael, Harvey and Irma. It would also provide $3 billion more for flooding in the Midwest and other natural disasters. Should the measure pass the Democratic-led lower chamber, it would shift the focus to the GOP-led Senate, where lawmakers have struggled to reach an agreement on the stalled disaster aid package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSchumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission GOP leaders face new calls to boot Greene MORE (R-Ky.) has said he would like to see a bill pass before the Memorial Day recess, despite hurdles. Funding for Puerto Rico has been a particularly contentious issue, with the disaster aid bill stalemating earlier this year after Trump criticized Puerto Rico's handling of recovery money. The president tweeted earlier this week that "Puerto Rico should be very happy and the Dems should stop blocking much needed Disaster Relief." At a Wednesday rally in the Florida Panhandle, Trump said he would secure $448 million to help with recovery from Hurricane Michael.<doc-sep>
The House passed a $17.2 billion supplemental disaster relief package Friday in a 257-150 vote despite opposition from President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE, who urged Republicans to vote against the measure because of what he saw as excessive funding for Puerto Rico. Trump has argued that Puerto Rico has mismanaged aid already sent to the island after the devastation in 2017 from Hurricane Maria. On Thursday night, he pressed GOP lawmakers to oppose the measure. “House Republicans should not vote for the BAD DEMOCRAT Disaster Supplemental Bill which hurts our States, Farmers & Border Security,” Trump tweeted. Thirty-four Republicans voted for the bill despite the president's urgings. ADVERTISEMENT The measure would extend the National Flood Insurance Program through Sept. 30, and provide aid to both Puerto Rico and states in the U.S. hit by flooding and other disasters. Democrats have ripped Trump over the issue of Puerto Rico, arguing the president has sought to limit aid to the territory. In the Senate, a similar battle is unfolding over funding. GOP lawmakers are struggling to hash out a disaster bill, and some have expressed frustrations to the White House, pressing for Trump to agree to a deal. Trump argued the island has received ample funding, tweeting that other areas impacted by natural disasters have been allocated lesser amounts. In a pair of tweets on Monday, Trump said Puerto Rico had been given more money by Congress for hurricane relief than any state in history. Trump’s comments on funding for Puerto Rico have been labeled false by some fact-checkers. The website Politifact wrote that Congress appropriated more funding for recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina than to Puerto Rico, while also noting that some money allocated for Puerto Rico has yet to be spent. It also noted that delivering aid to Puerto Rico is more expensive than to the mainland United States. House Republicans have called for Democrats to work across the aisle to craft a bipartisan measure that can pass both chambers. Minority Whip Steve Scalise Stephen (Steve) Joseph ScaliseGOP leaders face new calls to boot Greene Kinzinger calls for Greene to be removed from GOP conference after Holocaust remark Auschwitz Memorial calls Greene Holocaust comments a 'sad symptom of moral and intellectual decline' MORE (R-La.) told reporters Friday the Democrat-led bill failed to address a number of problems related to aiding disaster-stricken communities, alleging members across the aisle are playing politics with a critical issue. “We're continuing to negotiate to try and reach a bipartisan agreement and I sure encourage Democrats to work with us to get that done — to get a bill passed that the president would sign that actually addresses the problems, that gets disaster relief as quickly as possible to the states that have been impacted,” he said.