US government asks Congress to approve disaster funds

The US government has asked Congress to approve the release of $7.85 billion to tackle the floods brought by the catastrophic hurricane Harvey, one of the worst to hit the country.

A letter written by the White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney was delivered on Friday to House Speaker Paul Ryan requesting the “appropriation of Federal resources for response and initial recovery efforts related to Hurricane Harvey”, including $7.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as $450 million to “support the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan programme to assist small businesses and homeowners”.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott had said that the state would need $1.25 billion in funds to recover from the damage caused by Harvey, reports Efe news.

Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday revealed that some 311,000 people had registered for government disaster assistance.

The floods triggered by Hurricane Harvey have left at least 46 people dead and have caused the evacuation of more than 30,000.