House passes Harvey relief package; Hurricane Irma emergencies declared

The House of Representatives today voted 419-3 to approve $7.85 billion as part of an initial Hurricane Harvey relief package. Specifically, the bill would provide $7.4 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund and $450 million for the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program. The bill moves to the Senate. In other Harvey news, the Texas Hospital Association today announced that it contributed $1 million to its hospital employee assistance fund, which will help Texas hospital employees impacted by the storm. The AHA contributed an initial $50,000 to get the fund started and is running ads this week in Modern Healthcare to support the efforts. Meanwhile Hurricane Irma – a powerful Category 5 storm with winds up to 185 miles an hour – is expected to affect Puerto Rico today before continuing toward the U.S. Southeast Coast. President Trump yesterday approved emergency declarations for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.