WASHINGTON — The Senate could consider a disaster aid package by the end of the week; however, the amount of money included in the package and where that money will go has been a major point of contention.
- House passed disaster relief bill earlier this year
- Senate Democrats fighting for additional funds for Puerto Rico
- Survivors of Hurricane Michael also in need of help in Panhandle areas
- More Politics stories
Senators are inching towards a deal, but the details are still unclear. The major sticking point has been whether the package should include additional aid for Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane Maria or if it should only include funding for disasters from the last year.
“It’s five months since Michael hit my district," said Rep. Neal Dunn (R-2nd District).
Dunn, who represents Panama City and part of Tallahassee, said his constituents are still picking up the pieces from the Category 4 storm and cannot wait any longer for desperately needed aid.
“It’s especially frustrating for the people living in these conditions," Dunn said. "There’s a lot of things that are actually dependent on supplemental appropriations that aren’t taken care of from crop insurance and other insurance programs — the military, for instance.”
The House passed a disaster relief bill earlier this year, but it's been held up in the Republican-controlled Senate, where the fight over which disasters will be covered and which victims will receive help is being waged.
“It’s absolutely vital, critical that Puerto Rico be included," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-23rd District).
Wasserman Schultz said the bill should address shortfalls in nutrition assistance, Medicaid funds and other issues the island has been facing since Maria devastated the island in 2017.
“We need to continue to make sure that we help them shore up their infrastructure and really be able to bring things back online fully," she said.
"We need to make sure that we can bring them up to today’s standards so they can withstand a hurricane," she continued. "As someone who lives in hurricane alley in South Florida, you're quite familiar with the likelihood of that happening not just once or repeatedly."
As negotiations continue, more than 30 Democratic Senators are lobbying for the bill to include back pay for contractors affected by the partial government shutdown. Lawmakers are also looking to include funding for victims of the tornado that flattened portions of eastern Alabama and western Georgia this month.
Until Congress decides to move forward with a plan, Dunn says he’ll continue to advocate for his constituents.
“This should have been done back in November, certainly by December," he said. "The fact that we are here in March and we still haven’t got the funding ... they need to pick a number and move forward with this."
Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), chairman of the Appropriations committee, said he'd like to see the package make it through the Senate by the end of the week.