Congress Monday began putting together a $3 billion-plus package of federal disaster for the earthquake-ravaged San Francisco Bay area, putting off until later how to come up with the money to pay for it.
A rival administration aid plan being put into final shape would call for no new taxes, officials said.A congressional draft package being circulated throughout the Capitol would provide about $1 billion each through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration and the federal Highway Trust Fund.
"There is an urgent need for help for people now," Sen. Pete Wilson, R-Calif., told the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Resources. "FEMA is stretched very thin."
The House Appropriations Committee, after discussions with officials in the White House budget office, was scheduled to vote this afternoon on an aid package that officials said would total about $3.35 billion.
Officials said that, like the congressional plan, it would tap the federal Highway Trust Fund to help California rebuild highways and bridges damaged in last week's quake.