The White House will soon ask Congress to green light almost $30 billion for recovery efforts in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The funding request could come as soon as Wednesday — and is not expected to seek budget cuts to offset the new spending, the Post reported.
According to the Post, the White House will seek $12.77 billion in disaster recovery funds, $577 million to address wildfires, and $15 billion to fund the flood insurance program — a sore point with some lawmakers who say it is in dire need of reform and already owed more than $24 billion to the treasury before the hurricanes hit.
But House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told the Post he believed the package would win broad support in the House, including from past critics of the flood insurance program.
"Remember, this is emergency money," he said. "You've got to deal with the problem, so I think we'll be able to get this done."
Congress early last month authorized $7.9 billion in disaster relief to deal with damage caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, though the White House indicated it would eventually need more.
According to the Post, Hurricane Maria's destruction in Puerto Rico prompted the administration to look for new funds faster than expected, the Post reported.
"You have thrown our budget a little out of whack, because we've spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico and that's fine," Trump said during his visit to the island Tuesday.
According to the Post, the White House and congressional Republicans are taking a different approach to disaster relief than they have for past storms, when fiscal conservatives insisted new disaster none had to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere.
Officials from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are pushing the Trump administration and Congress to prepare a comprehensive rebuilding plan for the island territories, the Post reported.
But congressional leaders have said any debate on such a plan will not occur until the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies complete a full assessment of the territories' rebuilding needs.
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