Senate shelves disaster aid bill until next month

[December 22, 2017]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to provide $81 billion in new disaster aid for U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands was put on hold by the Senate on Thursday amid attacks from both Republicans and Democrats.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the legislation earlier on Thursday to help recovery efforts stemming from hurricanes and wildfires. But the Senate put off a vote until at least January, according to some lawmakers and aides, after Democrats complained Puerto Rico was not getting enough help and some fiscal hawks fretted about the overall cost.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Tom Brown)

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