Yesterday, January 15, the House passed the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act for 2013 (HR 152) by a vote of 241-180. The bill, which was considered as an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), appropriates $17 billion to various agencies for Hurricane Sandy relief activities. In addition, the House approved, by a vote of 221-197, an amendment to the bill offered by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), which provides an additional $33.7 billion for mostly longer-term recovery and mitigation efforts. The House rejected, by a vote of 162-258, an amendment to require a 1.63 percent reduction of spending across all discretionary appropriations to offset the costs of the bill. The amended bill passed by the House yesterday, when combined with a measure (HR 41) passed earlier this month providing $9.7 billion for the National Flood Insurance Program, is roughly equivalent to the $60.4 billion relief package that was requested by the Obama Administration and passed by the Senate in December. HR 152 will now go to the Senate for consideration, and the chamber is expected to pass the bill soon after it returns to session next week.

The $17 billion base bill provides $5.4 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, $5.4 billion for the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Authority Emergency Relief program, $3.9 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Fund, $1.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, and smaller amounts to support other federal agency programs. The $33.7 billion amendment to the bill adds $12.1 billion for HUD, $6.1 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund, $5.5 billion for transit programs, and $4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Links: HR 152; Frelinghuysen Amendment