US Senate approves $50.5 B Sandy aid package

The US Senate today approved a $50.5 billion disaster aid package for victims of Superstorm Sandy, three months after the storm destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in coastal New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The 62-36 vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate sends the appropriation measure to US President Barack Obama to be signed into law. It narrowly exceeded a 60-vote threshold needed for passage.

The Senate also defeated a Republican amendment that sought to offset the Sandy aid with cuts to discretionary spending spread over the next nine years.