Eastern Shore Congressman Andy Harris joined fellow House Republicans in casting a vote against the House’s $9.7 billion storm relief aid package.
The bill will help the mid-Atlantic region recover from Hurricane Sandy and was approved in the House by a vote of 354-67.
Harris, whose district represents hard-hit areas such as Crisfield and Ocean City, said he wanted the bill to include reforms for the flood insurance program and believed it did not have sufficient financial support.
He also called the measure a “another blank check and said that he would have used the bill to strengthen the program to protect people from future floods.
The bill replenishes the National Flood Insurance Program that was due to run out of money next week with some 115,000 Sandy-related claims as well as 5,000 from other floods unresolved.
