WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has signed a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill aimed at helping communities across the country bounce back from hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires.
Trump tweeted a photo of himself holding the signed bill in what appeared to his office aboard Air Force One. The tweet came shortly after Trump landed in Ireland following a ceremony in France commemorating the D-Day invasion.
Trump says the aid, which will benefit states including Georgia and Florida, is: “So important for our GREAT American farmers and ranchers.”
The bill languished for months amid disputes over Trump’s demand for border funding, as well as additional aid for Puerto Rico, which Trump opposed.
Trump nonetheless tweeted the U.S. territory “should love President Trump,” claiming that, “Without me, they would have been shut out!”
The U.S. Congress on Monday, June 3, approved legislation providing $19.1 billion in emergency funding for disaster recovery efforts throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico, sending it to President Donald Trump to sign into law.
Final passage came as the House of Representatives voted 354-58 for the measure, which lawmakers and Trump had been in negotiation for months. It was approved by the Senate late last month, and Trump has said he supports it.
House leaders tried three times in the last ten days to win unanimous approval of the bill while most lawmakers were away on recess. But some Republicans blocked these efforts, forcing House leaders to wait until the full chamber returned to work on Monday to pass the bill.
The measure would assist victims of numerous disasters over the last two years, from hurricanes in the Southeast to Midwestern flooding and California wildfires. It has funds to repair highways and other infrastructure, including some military bases, as well as aid to help farmers cover crop losses.
The bill also includes a $605 million nutrition program and $304 million in community development grants to help Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, recover from a devastating 2017 hurricane.
“We must work together quickly to pass a bill that addresses the surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border and provides law enforcement agencies with the funding they need,” said top Appropriations Committee Republican Kay Granger of Texas.
“The stakes are high. There are serious—life or death—repercussions if the Congress does not act.”
The legislation also extends a national flood insurance program until Sept. 30.
