Congress, White House Move Disaster Relief for Puerto Rico, US States and Territories

On Thursday, the Senate passed a $19.1 billion disaster relief plan to aid Americans recovering from natural disasters in US Territories like Puerto Rico and States including Iowa. The House of Representatives and the White House are expected to approve the Senate plan.

"Millions of Americans are suffering and this disaster relief plan is urgently needed. We applaud Senate leaders and the White House for agreeing on a disaster deal," noted Eric LeCompte who leads the religious development group Jubilee USA. "In Puerto Rico alone, more than a million Americans lost disaster food assistance in March and that aid is finally restored."

The $19 billion disaster package includes nearly a billion dollars of disaster aid for Puerto Rico. The Senate package includes $600 million in disaster food assistance for more than 1.3 million people in Puerto Rico. Another $300 million will support housing rebuilding funds for Puerto Rico. The agreement expedites allocation of $8.9 billion in monies Congress already passed for Puerto Rico. Less than $15 billion of the $50 billion Congress approved for Puerto Rico reached the island to date.

The disaster package aids Americans in a number of US States and Territories recovering from hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters. Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, California, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Kansas will benefit from the package.