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| Senate Passes Long-Deferred Disaster Relief Package | Senate Passes Long-Deferred Disaster Relief Package |
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| WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday passed a long-delayed disaster relief package, a step toward ending a monthslong impasse that had prevented the release of billions of dollars in aid for farmers and communities struggling to recover from an onslaught of natural disasters over the last two years. | WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday passed a long-delayed disaster relief package, a step toward ending a monthslong impasse that had prevented the release of billions of dollars in aid for farmers and communities struggling to recover from an onslaught of natural disasters over the last two years. |
| Minutes after a tornado warning blared through the Capitol chambers, the Senate voted 85 to 8 to allocate $19.1 billion for recovery efforts across the country. While the package included $900 million for Puerto Rico that President Trump had objected to, it did not include funds for the southwestern border that the White House had pressed for. | Minutes after a tornado warning blared through the Capitol chambers, the Senate voted 85 to 8 to allocate $19.1 billion for recovery efforts across the country. While the package included $900 million for Puerto Rico that President Trump had objected to, it did not include funds for the southwestern border that the White House had pressed for. |
| “We took it all out. We’re going to try to push that separately when we come back,” Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters, referring to the administration’s request for additional aid for the border. “It’s a good deal. This disaster issue has played on for months and months.” | “We took it all out. We’re going to try to push that separately when we come back,” Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters, referring to the administration’s request for additional aid for the border. “It’s a good deal. This disaster issue has played on for months and months.” |
| Although most representatives have left Washington for a weeklong Memorial Day recess, House leaders hope to pass the emergency spending bill as soon as Friday using unanimous consent. But some House Republicans are likely to be discontent with the measure, and any lawmaker could block the motion and delay final passage until the full chamber returns. | Although most representatives have left Washington for a weeklong Memorial Day recess, House leaders hope to pass the emergency spending bill as soon as Friday using unanimous consent. But some House Republicans are likely to be discontent with the measure, and any lawmaker could block the motion and delay final passage until the full chamber returns. |
| Still, the Senate vote was significant progress after months of partisan debate that has stymied recovery efforts across the country. | Still, the Senate vote was significant progress after months of partisan debate that has stymied recovery efforts across the country. |
| The deal came together after Mr. Shelby and Senator David Perdue, Republican of Georgia secured a commitment from Mr. Trump during a midafternoon phone call. The president said he would support the aid bill, despite the money for Puerto Rico and the absence of any funds to help feed and care for migrants detained at the southwestern border. | The deal came together after Mr. Shelby and Senator David Perdue, Republican of Georgia secured a commitment from Mr. Trump during a midafternoon phone call. The president said he would support the aid bill, despite the money for Puerto Rico and the absence of any funds to help feed and care for migrants detained at the southwestern border. |
| “We said we’ve got a window of opportunity here where we have an agreement in principle,” Mr. Perdue said. “We went through the pluses and minuses, and he said, ‘Well, look, we’ve got to get this done.’” | “We said we’ve got a window of opportunity here where we have an agreement in principle,” Mr. Perdue said. “We went through the pluses and minuses, and he said, ‘Well, look, we’ve got to get this done.’” |
| The president seized on the bill’s passage through the Senate as a victory. | |
| “The U.S. Senate has just approved a 19 Billion Dollar Disaster Relief Bill, with my total approval,” he said on Twitter. “Great!” | |
| Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah and one of eight Republican who voted against the measure, said in a statement that he objected to “rushing through billion-dollar spending bills at the 11th hour without sufficient debate.” (Seven senators did not vote.) | Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah and one of eight Republican who voted against the measure, said in a statement that he objected to “rushing through billion-dollar spending bills at the 11th hour without sufficient debate.” (Seven senators did not vote.) |
| “It’s unfortunate that today’s spending bill, which was initially aimed at aiding Americans affected by natural disasters, has been loaded up with billions of dollars in unrelated pet projects,” he said. | “It’s unfortunate that today’s spending bill, which was initially aimed at aiding Americans affected by natural disasters, has been loaded up with billions of dollars in unrelated pet projects,” he said. |
| The bill includes an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program and more than $3 billion to rebuild military bases and Coast Guard facilities. It also provides $2.4 billion for community development block grants in Puerto Rico and states, and $3.25 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers to repair damaged infrastructure and prepare for future storms, according to the office of Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont. | The bill includes an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program and more than $3 billion to rebuild military bases and Coast Guard facilities. It also provides $2.4 billion for community development block grants in Puerto Rico and states, and $3.25 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers to repair damaged infrastructure and prepare for future storms, according to the office of Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont. |
| Lawmakers in both chambers had pushed hard to reconcile the disaster aid package with the White House’s border security request before leaving for recess. As of Wednesday night, Mr. McConnell’s aides were pressing for the combination, according to a senior Democratic aide. | Lawmakers in both chambers had pushed hard to reconcile the disaster aid package with the White House’s border security request before leaving for recess. As of Wednesday night, Mr. McConnell’s aides were pressing for the combination, according to a senior Democratic aide. |
| “I don’t care who takes credit,” Mr. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters after some Republicans credited Mr. Trump for breaking the impasse. “We’re Americans. We came together.” | “I don’t care who takes credit,” Mr. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters after some Republicans credited Mr. Trump for breaking the impasse. “We’re Americans. We came together.” |
| Congress has not passed a broad disaster relief package since February 2018, when lawmakers included nearly $90 billion in aid in a budget deal that reopened the government after a shutdown. In the year since, natural disasters have devastated the country: hurricanes in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, wildfires in California, and floods across much of the Midwest. | Congress has not passed a broad disaster relief package since February 2018, when lawmakers included nearly $90 billion in aid in a budget deal that reopened the government after a shutdown. In the year since, natural disasters have devastated the country: hurricanes in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, wildfires in California, and floods across much of the Midwest. |
| “The Senate’s bipartisan vote is a big step toward making law and actually delivering the relief that communities across our nation need,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader. He lamented the failure to include border funding for “overwhelmed agencies, agencies which are running on fumes.” | “The Senate’s bipartisan vote is a big step toward making law and actually delivering the relief that communities across our nation need,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader. He lamented the failure to include border funding for “overwhelmed agencies, agencies which are running on fumes.” |
| Approving emergency relief bills after a natural disaster has typically involved a swift display of bipartisanship, but efforts to reach a compromise this year have been gridlocked. | Approving emergency relief bills after a natural disaster has typically involved a swift display of bipartisanship, but efforts to reach a compromise this year have been gridlocked. |
| Lawmakers first struggled with Mr. Trump’s aversion to additional assistance for Puerto Rico, as Senate Republicans refused to vote on a bill he did not support. The president’s request for billions of dollars more for the border further complicated the negotiations. | Lawmakers first struggled with Mr. Trump’s aversion to additional assistance for Puerto Rico, as Senate Republicans refused to vote on a bill he did not support. The president’s request for billions of dollars more for the border further complicated the negotiations. |
| In the meantime, Puerto Ricans saw some nutritional assistance expire in March. The first named tropical storm of the year already formed — then dissipated — in the Atlantic Ocean, and hard-hit military bases and communities in coastal states have gone begging. | In the meantime, Puerto Ricans saw some nutritional assistance expire in March. The first named tropical storm of the year already formed — then dissipated — in the Atlantic Ocean, and hard-hit military bases and communities in coastal states have gone begging. |
| The delay has been particularly hard on farmers, already bruised by the administration’s trade war and reluctant to move forward in the middle of planting season without the promise of federal aid. | The delay has been particularly hard on farmers, already bruised by the administration’s trade war and reluctant to move forward in the middle of planting season without the promise of federal aid. |
| Senate Democrats, with the backing of their House counterparts, refused to endorse any legislation that did not include substantial money for Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts from two hurricanes in 2017. While the island had received supplemental aid — some of which has yet to be disbursed — Democrats argued that the Trump administration has neglected the island, which does not have voting representation in Congress, warranting even more funds. | Senate Democrats, with the backing of their House counterparts, refused to endorse any legislation that did not include substantial money for Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts from two hurricanes in 2017. While the island had received supplemental aid — some of which has yet to be disbursed — Democrats argued that the Trump administration has neglected the island, which does not have voting representation in Congress, warranting even more funds. |
| The president, for his part, has falsely stated that the island has received $91 billion since the 2017 hurricanes. That figure is the Office of Management and Budget’s estimate of how much the island could secure over the next two decades. | The president, for his part, has falsely stated that the island has received $91 billion since the 2017 hurricanes. That figure is the Office of Management and Budget’s estimate of how much the island could secure over the next two decades. |
| Amid that scuffle, two disaster relief bills failed in the Senate, and the upper chamber did not take up a House-passed bill that would have sent $19.1 billion in relief across the country. Negotiators also disagreed over Mr. Shelby’s push to include language that would release funds from a harbor maintenance fund, which he ultimately agreed to omit. | Amid that scuffle, two disaster relief bills failed in the Senate, and the upper chamber did not take up a House-passed bill that would have sent $19.1 billion in relief across the country. Negotiators also disagreed over Mr. Shelby’s push to include language that would release funds from a harbor maintenance fund, which he ultimately agreed to omit. |
| In recent weeks, demands from the administration and its Republican allies to include funds for the southwestern border became the major sticking point in negotiations, as the administration escalated its efforts to respond to a surge of asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants. | In recent weeks, demands from the administration and its Republican allies to include funds for the southwestern border became the major sticking point in negotiations, as the administration escalated its efforts to respond to a surge of asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants. |
| Democrats balked at allocating billions of dollars more toward border security without additional supervision into how the money would be spent. Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, described the Democrats’ approach as “a good-faith offer, but not a blank check.” | Democrats balked at allocating billions of dollars more toward border security without additional supervision into how the money would be spent. Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, described the Democrats’ approach as “a good-faith offer, but not a blank check.” |
| Democrats rejected as a nonstarter the administration’s request for more beds at migrant processing centers, though lawmakers said they expected to revisit the issue after their recess. | Democrats rejected as a nonstarter the administration’s request for more beds at migrant processing centers, though lawmakers said they expected to revisit the issue after their recess. |
| Mr. Schumer, concerned that Republicans would bring up legislation that did not have what he considered adequate aid for Puerto Rico, encouraged his caucus to block any of those measures, according to a person familiar with the exchange. | Mr. Schumer, concerned that Republicans would bring up legislation that did not have what he considered adequate aid for Puerto Rico, encouraged his caucus to block any of those measures, according to a person familiar with the exchange. |
| “The money is going to go where it is intended, not to anything else, to a wall or anything else,” Mr. Schumer said. “And the point to make here? Better late than never.” | “The money is going to go where it is intended, not to anything else, to a wall or anything else,” Mr. Schumer said. “And the point to make here? Better late than never.” |
| And while the fate of the overall relief package in the House remains uncertain, senators from both parties celebrated the chance to go home with the promise of federal aid to come — and for a pause in the late-night wrangling over negotiations. | And while the fate of the overall relief package in the House remains uncertain, senators from both parties celebrated the chance to go home with the promise of federal aid to come — and for a pause in the late-night wrangling over negotiations. |
| “Will you boys let me go home?” Mr. Leahy, who is 79, joked with Mr. Perdue and Mr. Scott as they took questions. “I want to go scuba diving.” | “Will you boys let me go home?” Mr. Leahy, who is 79, joked with Mr. Perdue and Mr. Scott as they took questions. “I want to go scuba diving.” |