Congress to take up Superstorm Sandy bill - Houston weather, traffic, news | FOX 26 | MyFoxHouston

Congress to take up Superstorm Sandy bill

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NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -

The U.S. House of Representatives is headed for a vote on aid for Superstorm Sandy victims after House Speaker John Boehner mollified fellow Republicans from New York and New Jersey upset with his decision to cancel action on the bill.

Facing intense pressure from local lawmakers, Boehner agreed Wednesday to schedule a vote Friday on $9 billion for the national flood insurance program and another vote on Jan. 15 for a remaining $51 billion in the package.

Rep. Peter King (R-LI) left a meeting with Boehner Wednesday without the anger that led him to rip into the speaker Tuesday night.

"We had a meeting with John Boehner and Eric Cantor yesterday. The speaker agreed to bring the legislation up. The first 9 billion will be voted on tomorrow and the remaining will be voted on January 15," King told Good Day NY on Thursday.

"This really was brass knuckle politics. This is a local issue that really matters to all of us who have friends that are still digging out. Peter King and Chris Christie deserve all the credit in the world because their one-two punch, their blistering attack at the incompetence, division in Congress made all the difference because John Boehner back tracked within a few hours," said John Avlon, senior columnist for Newsweek and the Daily Beast.

Sandy was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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