The $1.7 trillion government spending package Congress is working to pass by Friday contains $27 billion in emergency disaster relief aid.

What You Need To Know

  • The $1.7 trillion government spending package Congress is working to pass by Friday contains $27 billion in emergency disaster relief aid.

  • The $27 billion in assistance is supposed to help communities hit by recent disasters recover, repair infrastructure and prepare for future disasters

  • Some Republicans, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, said the ​disaster assistance should be considered separately from the big government funding package

  • The House is expected to send the bill to President Joe Biden's desk by Friday

​The $27 billion in assistance is supposed to help communities hit by recent disasters recover, repair infrastructure and prepare for future disasters. 

Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., who's supporting the large package, says a "significant portion" of the disaster aid will go to Florida as the state recovers from recent Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. 

Castor said stakeholders from the "grassroots level and the community level" will take part in the development of the recovery plans. 

"The U.S. Housing and Urban Development will help community block grants to help communities rebuild over time," she added. 

The disaster funding would repair damaged water infrastructure and military facilities. It also would provide FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund with $5 billion to strengthen recovery efforts.  

Some Republicans, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, said the ​disaster assistance should be considered separately from the big government funding package.

Scott called for a vote on his stand-alone disaster aid bill ahead of Senate consideration of the larger spending package. 

"On Sept. 30, just two days after Ian made its catastrophic landfall near Fort Myers, Florida, I wrote to my colleagues urging them to work with me on getting much-needed aid to Florida families as quickly as possible," Scott said. "Immediately after the aid Floridians desperately needed was delayed so it could get stuffed into this massive and reckless $1.7 trillion  omnibus bill."

Scott's stand-alone bill was rejected 22-73. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who also wanted a stand-alone disaster funding bill, voted against the larger spending measure.

"I voted 'no' today because this is a 4,100-page mega-bill, released only hours before voting, and drafted by a small group of senators with no input from the overwhelming majority of the Senate," he said in part.

Ultimately, the Senate passed the omnibus with a final vote of 68-29. The House is expected to send the bill to President Joe Biden's desk by Friday.