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The bill would allocate just over $15 billion in aid to help the recovery from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. Additionally, as per the terms of a deal between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders, the bill would also suspend the debt ceiling and fund the government via a continuing resolution (CR) for three months.
Republican leaders wanted to push the debt ceiling deadline further out into the future, but Trump sided with Democrats on the three-month extension.
Despite the distaste for the deal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell supported the package and encouraged his conference to vote for it.
Two GOP senators, Rand Paul and Ben Sasse, offered amendments to the bill that would have altered the deal. Paul's amendment would have offset the Harvey aid with spending cuts and Sasse's would have stripped the CR and debt ceiling components. Both were defeated.
Since the amendment on the debt ceiling and the CR were added to the Harvey aid bill, the package will head back down to the House for a vote over the next few days.