Republicans from hurricane-ravaged states warn against stripping disaster aid from spending bill [View all]
Source: The Hill
12/18/24 8:30 PM ET
Senate Republicans from regions affected by hurricanes and other storms are warning negotiators against stripping disaster funding from the stopgap spending bill that is suddenly in turmoil after President-elect Trump heavily criticized Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) plan. Multiple Republicans indicated that they would hold up any bill that does not include more than $100 billion in funding to help recovery efforts after hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with other natural disasters, and that any continuing resolution — known as a CR — must include it.
“Yeah, we’ve got to have the disaster relief. I can’t go home and … play like it didn’t happen.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. “To anybody who thinks that disaster relief is pork, come to where I live, see what happened in my state, in North Carolina and Georgia.”
“There’s a time for the government,” Graham continued, noting that some individuals and families in parts of those states have “lost everything.” “There’s generations of families where the entire family was wiped out. This is an absolute moral imperative to get money into the system to help these people get back on their feet.”
Trump threw a massive wrench into spending talks on Wednesday by calling on lawmakers to deal with the debt ceiling in any potential stopgap. This came despite the debt ceiling, which is not set to come up until the summer, not being part of negotiations on this current bill throughout the process.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5047783-graham-tillis-disaster-aid-spending-bill/
= new reply since forum marked as read