12/18/2017

BUDGET/CRISIS/GOP: “House Republicans on Monday [12-18-17] night unveiled legislation that would authorize $81 billion in disaster aid for victims of recent storms, a move that quickly drew backlash from conservatives about its impact on the federal deficit.
House Republicans from Texas and Florida praised the aid package, nearly double the $44 billion the White House had requested last month to help states recover this year’s devastating storms. House GOP lawmakers from the two state delegations met Monday afternoon to discuss the deal, which many had said was needed before they would support spending bills that must pass this week to avoid a government shutdown. The government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 23.
House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) called the package a ‘very significant increase’ over the White House’s request and said it could mitigate the concerns of many lawmakers from Texas and Florida…
Many Republicans have traditionally said that emergency spending to help disaster victims should be offset with other budget cuts. Conservatives said that if a disaster-aid package is added to a short-term spending bill this week, they could oppose it.”

-Kristina Peterson, “House Republicans Release Disaster-Relief Bill,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 18, 2017 09:22pm