Harvey aid tied to federal funding plan

Cornyn says $81 billion for victims of storm, other disasters should be approved by Jan. 19

WASHINGTON — An $81 billion disaster-relief package for victims of Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters likely will not get final approval in Congress until a Jan. 19 deadline for lawmakers to continue funding for the federal government.

That assessment was delivered by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, who met with President Donald Trump on Thursday to discuss the 2018 budget along with other top congressional leaders.

The House passed the aid package on Dec. 21, but the Senate, breaking for the holidays, did not take up the measure.

Although the storm relief cleared the House as a separate bill, it is now likely to become part of the final negotiations for an all-inclusive 2018 spending bill, tying its fate to a host of battles over budget caps, defense spending, a children’s health insurance program and the fate of immigrants brought into the country illegally as children, known as “Dreamers.”

“There will be some changes, but it will likely be wrapped up in that Jan. 19 negotiation,” Cornyn said. “I expect them to be handled essentially all in one big fell swoop.”

Cornyn said he has been in close contact with Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been pushing Congress to direct more money to Houston and the rest of the Gulf region affected by Harvey. The House-passed bill includes aid for storm victims in Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as for recovery from last year’s California wildfires.

Cornyn said he does not expect to see more funding devoted to Texas in the current aid proposal, even if Congress passes it as part of a deal to avert a government shutdown on Jan. 19.

“We’re not really talking about changing the top line,” he said. “But that may change as people want more money for Puerto Rico.”

Aides to Abbott, who has been unhappy with the pace and amount of federal assistance,

said the governor is continuing to press for the approval of additional funding. In the meantime, they said, Texas is fronting millions of dollars to ensure that recovery efforts continue.

Under an earlier agreement with the Trump Administration, Texas is being reimbursed for 90 percent of the money it spends on recovery efforts.

Abbott and other state leaders have pressed for fast approval of federal funding for Texas’ recovery, insisting that the state actually was hit by three storm events — Harvey’s first landfall, a second landfall and then catastrophic flooding — that devastated two-thirds of its Gulf Coast and many adjacent areas including Houston.