WASHINGTON A partisan deadlock over a disaster relief package showed no signs of easing Tuesday, as the two camps traded barbs over aid for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
Senate Republicans made a new offer over the weekend that Democrats dismissed, weakening prospects for a deal before lawmakers leave town later this week for a two-week Easter recess. President Donald Trump has told Republicans he wont support additional aid to Puerto Rico beyond an extra $600 million in food assistance that is already included in a GOP-written bill.
Things look bleak, said Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby who held talks in recent days with Democrats and the White House. But you never know. Sometimes theres a storm before the sun comes up.
Democrats have sought an additional $462 million for long-term rebuilding of the U.S. island territory, along with a commitment to speed up the delivery of billions of dollars in aid that has yet to be disbursed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
But the latest Republican offer includes no such guarantee and provides no additional funding explicitly for Puerto Rico, according to a senior Democratic aide. Instead, it enlarges a pot of money that could be tapped by all disaster zones nationwide, while denying eligibility to Puerto Rico until all previously approved aid that has been held up gets spent, the aide said.
Shelby declined to discuss details of the offer, but he acknowledged a concern among Republicans that Puerto Rico is in line for more aid without sufficient accountability. Theyve got billions of dollars they havent even spent, the Alabama Republican said. Thats a problem.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said Republicans arent treating all areas of the country equally by denying needed assistance to Puerto Rico. As long as they want to keep Puerto Rico out, I cant fully understand it, he said. I think Americans are Americans are Americans.
Republicans are likely unwilling to meet urgent needs in Puerto Rico because theyre afraid Donald Trump will oppose it, Leahy said.
The $16.7 billion package drafted by GOP appropriators would offer long-delayed relief to victims of hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters from California to the Southeast. The House passed an initial package in January, only to watch it stall for months as the dispute over Puerto Rico intensified.
If Senate Republicans fail to advance legislation this week, we are prepared to introduce a new bill that builds on our already passed legislation and broadens assistance to the people of the Midwest, said Evan Hollander, spokesman for House Democratic appropriators.
in a statement over the weekend.
The new offering from House Democrats is expected to be similar to the $14.2 billion package that chamber passed in January, with an additional $2.5 billion tacked on to respond to flooding in the Midwest and tornadoes that ripped through Southeastern states this year, Hollander added Tuesday. Of the new funds, $1.5 billion would be distributed through the Army Corps of Engineers, and the other $1 billion run through HUDs Community Development Block Grant program.
In addition, House Democrats plan to include $500 million for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by recent disasters.
___
