WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate on Friday approved a $60.4 billion emergency spending aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy that had been backed by Senate Democrats.
Democrats had to turn back Republican efforts to cut programs such as $150 million in fisheries aid that Republican lawmakers said was unrelated to the storm that hammered the East Coast late in October. R.I.'s Democratic senators, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, voted in favor of the bill.
The bill faces uncertain prospects in the House, where GOP leaders appear reluctant to move quickly on a big spending bill at the end a lame-duck session. Congress' attention is focused on the so-called fiscal cliff.
More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent on relief efforts for 11 states, including Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia.