House Approves $50 Billion in Sandy Aid

The House has approved a $50.5 billion spending bill for the Northeast areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, the Associated Press reported.

The 241-180 vote clears the way for the Senate to take up the measure next week, which officials predicted it would do before sending it to President Obama for his signature, AP said.

The bill includes $2 billion for restoration of damaged or destroyed highways, about $16 billion to repair transit systems in New York and New Jersey and a similar amount for housing and other needs.

The bill was approved by 192 Democrats and 49 Republicans, while 179 Republicans and one Democrat opposed its passage, AP reported.

Hurricane Sandy slammed into the New Jersey shore near Atlantic City on Oct. 29, morphing into a “superstorm” that caused widespread damage in that state, Pennsylvania, New York and southern New England.

Officials said Sandy was the most costly U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.