House passes Harvey aid package that also raises debt ceiling
8 Sept 2017 10:37 PM IST
Washington: The House has voted 316-90 to approve a package that both provides $15.25 billion in Hurricane Harvey disaster aid and raises the federal debt ceiling, despite objections from Republican conservatives.
Numerous members and aides predicted that the bill would fail to gain support from a majority of Republicans. But, as of Friday morning, conservative opponents appeared unlikely to derail the package.
Democrats are expected to deliver a majority of the votes to approve the deal, making it easier for Republicans to vote against the package without the threat of failing to provide critical disaster funding as Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida's southern coast.
The legislation easily passed the Senate by a vote of 80-17 on Thursday, despite similar concerns from Senate conservatives.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) was among those Republicans who initially opposed the idea of a three-month extension of the federal borrowing limit but he said Thursday that he supports the legislation.
Ryan said he worries about the impact of continued reliance on short-term debt limit fixes on credit markets.
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