House Passes Sandy Supplemental

This week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 152, the Disaster Relief Act of 2013, which provides $50.7 billion in funding for relief and recovery efforts in the states impacted by Hurricane Sandy.   The bill passed by a vote of 241 – 180, with 49 Republicans and 192 Democrats voting yes and 179 Republicans and 1 Democrat voting no.  The bill now goes to the Senate, which reconvenes next week after the Presidential Inauguration. The AGC supported bill combined two amendments offered during floor debate.  The first amendment offered by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Roger (R-KY) was a nearly $17 billion package and passed by a vote of 327 – 91.   During debate on the Rogers amendment, Rep. Mick Mulvaney  (R-S.C.) offered an AGC opposed amendment that called for an ill-advised 1.63 percent across the board cut to all discretionary spending, the amendment failed by a vote of 258 – 162.   Once the Rogers amendment was passed, Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) then offered an amendment adding an additional $33.67 billion to the package – the amendment passed by a vote of 228 to 92, with only 38 Republicans in support. According to an AGC analysis, the bill provides over $47 billion in funding to federal construction accounts.  AGC will continue to monitor the situation and urge the Senate to quickly enact this important legislation that will provide the affected states the ability to rebuild their infrastructure. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.